All-Cause Mortality among Belgian Military Radar Operators: A 40-Year Controlled Longitudinal Study

Background: It has been suggested that exposure to radiofrequency/microwaves radiations could be associated with greater health hazards and higher mortality. Methods: The all-cause mortality of 27,671 Belgian militaries who served from 1963 until 1994 in battalions equipped with radars for anti-airc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of epidemiology 2005-08, Vol.20 (8), p.677-681
Main Authors: Degrave, Etienne, Autier, Philippe, Grivegnée, André-Robert, Zizi, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Age specific mortality rates
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aircraft
Belgium - epidemiology
Biological and medical sciences
Case-Control Studies
Cause of Death
Child
Conscription
Control groups
Death
Epidemiology
Health hazards
Human exposure
Human resources
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Medical research
Medical sciences
Microwaves
Middle Aged
Military Personnel
Miscellaneous
Mortality
Occupational Exposure - adverse effects
Proportional Hazards Models
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Radar
Radar tracking
Retrospective Studies
Statistics, Nonparametric
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Summary:Background: It has been suggested that exposure to radiofrequency/microwaves radiations could be associated with greater health hazards and higher mortality. Methods: The all-cause mortality of 27,671 Belgian militaries who served from 1963 until 1994 in battalions equipped with radars for anti-aircraft defence was studied over the period 1968-2003. End of the seventies, technical modifications brought to the shielding of the micro-wave generators resulted in a reduction in irradiations. A control group was formed by 16,128 militaries who served during the same period in the same military area but who were never exposed to radars. Administrative procedures for identifying militaries and their vital status were equivalent in the radar and the control groups. Results: The age-standardized mortality ratio (SMR) in the radar battalions was 1.05 (95% CI: 0.95-1.16) in professional militaries, and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.75-0.85) in conscripts. In professional militaries no difference in mortality was found according to duration (less than, or five years or more) or to period of service (before 1978 or after 1977). Conclusions: During a 40-year period of observation, we found no increase in all-cause mortality in Belgian militaries who were in close contact with radar equipments of anti-aircraft defence battalions.
ISSN:0393-2990
1573-7284
DOI:10.1007/s10654-005-7922-z