1. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 1 Walk from railway station to SNF

2. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 2 Environmental Health group Main focus of the environmental health unit is on electromagnetic field air pollution and noise. We perform aetiological research exposure assessment studies risk assessments including systematic literature reviews Team: Anke Huss, Daniela Jenni, Patrizia Frei, Nicole Jakubowitz, Evelyn Mohler (start in Oct.)

3. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 3 Main projects  Qualifex: High frequency electromagnetic fields and health related quality of life  CEFALO: An international case-control study on brain tumours in children and adolescents  Exposure to power line and mortality from neurodegenerative diseases

4. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 4 Collaborators/Partners  Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Bern: Patrizia Frei, Evelyn Mohler (1.10.07), Matthias Egger  Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, Basel: Charlotte Braun-Fahrländer  ARIAS umwelt.forschung.beratung, Bern Alfred Bürgi  EMF & MW Electronics Laboratory, IFH, ETH Zurich: Jürg Fröhlich  Austrian Research Centers ARC: Georg Neubauer  NIS monitoring Central Switzerland (Amt für Umweltschutz, Uri): Niklas Joos  Air Quality Management Agency of Basel: Gaston Theis  METAS (Federal Office of Metrology): Frédéric Pythoud  Project homepage: www.qualifex.chwww.qualifex.ch

5. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 5 Qualifex: Aims  To quantify levels of exposure to RF-EMF in 200 volunteers.  To develop a RF-EMF exposure assessment model based on modelling and questionaire.  To identify the contributions of different RF-EMF sources to the total exposure in a general Swiss population sample.  To investigate associations between usual levels of RF- EMF exposure and health related quality of life.

6. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 6 Study Overview Exposimeter Study: Measurement with exposimeter Questionnaire on exposure Diary Propagation modelling 200 participants Main Study: Questionnaire on expo- sure and health Propagation modelling Follow-up after one year 2000 participants Sleep Study: Measurement with actimeter Sleep diary 120 participants Year 1 (2007) Year 2 and 3 (2008 und 2009) Exposure assessment method

7. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 7 Study areaExposimeter

8. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 8 Propagation model

9. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 9 Expertise  EMF modelling  Exposure assessment  Analyses of diary data  Analyses of data below the detection limit  Measurements of health related quality of life

10. CEFALO: An international case-control study on mobile phone use and the risk of brain tumours in children and adolescents

11. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 11 Countries included, principal investigators, funding sources  Denmark, Joachim Schüz — Danish Strategic Research Council  Norway, Tore Tynes — Norwegian Research Council  Sweden, Maria Feychting — Swedish council for working life and social research  Switzerland, Martin Röösli —Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, Swiss Research Foundation on Mobile Communication  UK: pilot study, Patricia McKinney —Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust

12. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 12 Collaborators in Switzerland  Study assistant: Daniela Jenni  French interviewer: Nicole Jakubowitz  Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry: Claudia Kühni, Elisabeth Kiraly  Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group (SPOG): Michael Grotzer, Nicolas von der Weid  Pediatric oncology hospitals  Neurosurgery clinics for adults

13. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 13 Study design: population based case- control study  All cases of brain tumors in children aged 7-19 are identified during a 4 year period —Study period: April 2004 to 2008 —Close collaboration with pediatric oncology and neurosurgery clinics —Regular search in population based Cancer registries  2 controls per case selected randomly from the general population

14. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 14 Study design, cont.  550 cases and ~1100 controls in Nordic countries and Switzerland  Pilot study in UK includes 50 cases and 50 controls, will hopefully be expanded

15. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 15 Data collection  Computer assisted personal interviews (CAPI) with child and parent(s)  Mobile phone exposure information: —personal interview —Data from mobile phone operators  Other potential risk factors: —Questions about child’s medical history (head injuries, medications and scans), pregnancy- and birth related factor, social contacts with other children and animals, allergies in the child or the family  Collection of saliva samples for DNA analyses

16. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 16 Expertise  Case-control methodology  Computer assisted personal interview  genetic epidemiology

17. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 17 Power lines and mortality from neurodegenerative diseases Anke Huss, Matthias Egger, Adrian Spörri, Martin Röösli

18. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 18 - 50- 110kV - 150kV - 220kV - 380kV Aim  Association between exposures from power lines and risk of neurodegenerative diseases? —Alzheimer's disease —Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

19. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 19 Methods  Outcome: Swiss National Cohort —ICD10 codes (1995 – 2004) of ALS, Alzheimer's disease —present data based on 2001 - 2004  Exposure —distance to a power line (GIS)/ corridors  Survival analysis: —Potential confounders: socio-demographic factors, no of apartments, language region, urban/rural

20. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 20 Expertise  Exposure to power lines  Survival methods

21. ISPM Research Day, 11. 09. 2007 21 Additional projects  Genetic epidemiology: Collaboration with Dep. Soc. Med., University of Bristol (Britisch Women Health and Heart Study)  Multilevel modeling: "Eltern und Schule stärken Kinder": an intervention study on Triple p (Institut für Familienforschung und -beratung, University of Fribourg. > Air pollution: cohort study of newborns Departments of Pediatrics, University of Bern > Planned activities: — Environmental Medicine: Umweltmedizinische Beratungs- struktur im Praxisalltag: Machbarkeit, Bedarf und Nutzen (PI: Anke Huss) — Survey on EMF in German physicians’ practices (PI: INFAS) — Particulate measurements in restaurants (PI: Lungenliga)