Living near power lines may significantly increase a person’s risk of death from Alzheimer’s disease or senile dementia.
Researchers from the University of Bern, Switzerland, have found that people who lived within 50 metres of a long-distance power transmission line were 1.24 times more likely to die of Alzheimer’s disease than those who lived 600 metres or more away.
Those who had lived near the power line for five years or more had 1.51 times the risk of those living farther away. This risk was increased 1.71 times for those who had lived close to a power line for 10 years, and two times for those who had lived within 50 meters for 15 years or more.