“Before anything can be reasoned upon to a conclusion, certain facts, principles, or data, to reason from, must be established, admitted, or denied.”
- Thomas Paine
THE DATA
Working on electrical utilities in Canada was accompanied by a 176% increase in suicide, compared to those not so employed.
In China, more than 5 hours of smartphone use per day was accompanied by a 160% increase in suicidal ideation.
Working as an electrician in the United States was accompanied by a 118% increase in suicide , compared to those not so employed. In a study in the Western Journal of Medicine, first author Edwin van Wijngaard said it was because of "a plausible mechanism related to melatonin and depression".
Electrical line workers and electricians in the United States younger than 50 years had a suicide mortality rate between 112% greater and 262% greater than those not so employed.
Working as an electrical line worker or electrician in the United States is accompanied by a dose-response gradient increase in suicide, with a suicide mortality increase of 70% in the highest exposure category, compared to those not so employed.
Working as an electrical line worker in the United States is accompanied by an increase in suicide of 59%, compared to those not so employed.
In Japan, geomagnetic storms were accompanied by a 39% increase in transport accidents.
Geomagnetic storms are accompanied by a 36.2% increase in male hospital admissions with a diagnosis of depressed phase, manic-depressive illness in the second week following such storms compared with geomagnetically quiet control periods.
In Japan, geomagnetic storms were accompanied by a 33% increase in suicide.
In Japan, geomagnetic storms were accompanied by a 30% increase in accidents.
Residential exposure to increased magnetic fields is accompanied by a 22% increase in suicide (709 to 867) - Perry, et al 1981. "Because exposure was ascertained after the occurrence of a suicide and measured at the entrances to the residence of the subjects rather than by actual measurements of personal exposure ,
the findings of Perry (1981) may be questionable ".
In fetuses, geomagnetic storms are accompanied by a 15% increase in heart rate disturbances.
Geomagnetic storms are accompanied by an increase in female psychotic depression and non-psychotic depression admissions following storms.
The Institute of North Industrial Ecology Problems in Russia’s Oleg Shumilov documented that the Earth’s geomagnetic activity peaks three times a year: from March to May, in July, and in October.
He also documented that the number of suicides in the Russian city of Kirovsk peaked during those same time periods.
MRI procedures are accompanied by measurable increases in blood-brain barrier permeability, which might result in altered concentrations of nutrients and xenobiotics, which could compromise the homeostatic state necessary for emotional and mental well being.
THE ARTICLES
In August 2000, first author Edwin van Wijngaardn published “Exposure to electromagnetic fields and suicide among electric utility workers” in the Western Journal of Medicine.
In it, he said “Suicide mortality was increased relative to work in exposed jobs and with indices of exposure to magnetic fields. Increased odds ratios (ORs) were found for years of employment as an electrician (OR, 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25-3.80) or line worker(OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.18-2.14), whereas a decreased OR was found for power plant operators (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.33-1.40). A dose-response gradient with exposure to magnetic fields was found for exposure in the previous year, with a mortality OR of 1.70 (95% CI, 1.00-2.90) in the highest exposure category. Stronger associations, with ORs in the range of 2.12 to 3.62, were found for men younger than 50 years. Conclusions These data provide evidence for an association between occupational electromagnetic fields and suicide that warrants further evaluation. A plausible mechanism related to melatonin and depression provides a direction for additional laboratory research and epidemiologic evaluation.”
Working as an electrician is accompanied by an increase in suicide of 118% , compared to those not so employed.
Electrical line workers and elecricians younger than 50 years have a suicide mortality rate between 112% greater and 262% greater than those not so employed.
Working as an electrical line worker or electrician is accompanied by a dose-response gradient increase in suicide, with a suicide mortality increase of 70% in the highest exposure category, compared to those not so employed.
Working as an electrical line worker is accompanied by an increase in suicide of 59%, compared to those not so employed.
.
In a study in the Western Journal of Medicine, first author Edwin van Wijngaard said it was because of "a plausible mechanism related to melatonin and depression".
In November 2006, in the journal Bio Electro Magnetics, first author Michael Berk questioned “Do ambient electromagnetic fields affect behaviour***?*** A demonstration of the relationship between geomagnetic storm activity and suicide”.
In it, he said “Suicide amongst females increased significantly in autumn during concurrent periods of geomagnetic storm activity (P = .01). This pattern was not observed in males (P = .16).”
The study goes on to say "A positive trend was also measured between
geomagnetic activity and subjective psycho-physiological complaints [Dimitrova et al., 2004]."
Geomagnetic activity is accompanied by psycho-physiological complaints.
The study continues: "In another study, geomagnetic activity data collected over a 10 year period was highly related to the admission rate of 3449 patients diagnosed as suffering from depression, to a psychiatric hospital in Britain. The significance of the relationship was stronger for males than for
females [Kay, 1994]." Kay says “The hypothesis that geomagnetic storms may partly account for the seasonal variation in the incidence of depression, by acting as a precipitant of depressive illness in susceptible individuals, is supported by a statistically significant 36.2% increase in male hospital admissions with a diagnosis of depressed phase, manic-depressive illness in the second week following such storms compared with geomagnetically quiet control periods. There is a smaller but not statistically significant increase in female psychotic depression and non-psychotic depression admissions following storms.”
Geomagnetic storms are accompanied by a 36.2% increase in male hospital admissions with a diagnosis of depressed phase, manic-depressive illness in the second week following such storms compared with geomagnetically quiet control periods.
Geomagnetic storms are accompanied by an increase in female psychotic depression and non-psychotic depression admissions following storms.
In a study of individual violence
among penitentiary populations in Canada, geomagnetic disturbances significantly related with; minor
violence in the psychiatric prison (P ¼.01), minor violence in the women’s prison (P ¼.01) and minor
violence in one medium security prison (P ¼.02).
There was a significant inverse relationship (P .05)
between geomagnetic disturbances and attempted
suicide or self-inflicted injury rates among male
prisoners during the summer months [Ganjavi et al.,
1985].
Two previous studies have shown a positive
relationship between geomagnetic storm activity and
an increased incidence of suicide. Partonen et al. [2004]
found a relationship between smoothed monthly mean
K values for geomagnetic activity and relative risk of
suicide amongst 27 469 suicides in Finland from
1 January 1979 to 31 December 1999. Gordon and
Berk [2003] found a correlation between suicides
and average storm activity in South Africa between
January 1980 and December 1992. The effect was
shown to be stronger in females (P <.005) than males
(P <.025).
On April 24, 2008, Catherin Brahic questioned “Does the Earth’s magnetic field cause suicides***?***” in newscientist.com.
The article goes on to say "Many animals can sense the Earth’s magnetic field, so why not people, asks Oleg Shumilov of the Institute of North Industrial Ecology Problems in Russia.
Shumilov looked at activity in the Earth’s geomagnetic field from 1948 to 1997 and found that it grouped into three seasonal peaks every year: one from March to May, another in July and the last in October.
Surprisingly, he also found that the geomagnetism peaks matched up with peaks in the number of suicides in the northern Russian city of Kirovsk over the same period."
The Institute of North Industrial Ecology Problems in Russia’s Oleg Shumilov documented that the Earth’s geomagnetic activity peaks three times a year: from March to May, in July, and in October.
He also documented that the number of suicides in the Russian city of Kirovsk peaked during those same time periods.
In February 2020, first author Tsutomo Nishimura published “Association of Geomagnetic Disturbances and Suicide Attempts in Taiwan, 1997–2013: A Cross-Sectional Study” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
The study goes on to say "Epidemiological studies have reported the possibility of an electromagnetic field at electric utility sites or a power line affecting depression and suicide [4,5,9]. In previous research, correlation between geomagnetic disturbances and suicide/depression has been reported in countries such as Canada, South Africa, Finland, Australia, Russia, and Japan [8,10,11,12,13,14,15].
In August 2019, Hiroshi Moritomo published “A new geomagnetic index reveals the link between
geomagnetic activity and human health” in the International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (IJEAS).
In it, he said "This work, using a new measure of geomagnetic activity, studies the associations between and human health. We classified magnetic storms into two categories, storms of sudden commencement and storms of gradual commencement, and counted their frequencies to get new indices called FSSC and FSGC respectively. We explored the correlation of these new indices with 16 leading causes of death in Japan from 1952 to 2004. We also compared our results with known indices of solar activity viz sunspot numbers and
K-index. Significant positive correlations were between FSSC and Hypertensive diseases, Cerebrovascular diseases, Accidents, Transport accidents Malignant neoplasms, Diabetes mellitus, Heart diseases, Pneumonia, Chronic bronchitis and emphysema, Renal failure, and negative correlations between FSSC and Hypertensive diseases, Cerebrovascular diseases, Asthma, Gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, Senility, Accidents, Transport accidents. No correlations were seen between disease and
sunspot numbers. Our new index contributed to revealing the link between the geomagnetic activity and human health more precisely than established indices."
He goes on to say “An increase in female psychotic depression has been shown following geomagnetic
storms [2].” Kay, R.W. (1994) Geomagnetic Storms: Association with Incidence of
Depression as Measured by Hospital Admission. British Journal of
Psychiatry, 164, 403-409
"A geomagnetic storm is defined by extreme changes in geomagnetic disturbances, such as the K-index [6]. The geomagnetic K-index is a measure of the disturbance level of the Earth’s magnetic field. It is derived from the maximum fluctuations of horizontal components observed on a magnetometer during a three-hour interval.
In Japan, geomagnetic storms were accompanied by a 39% increase in transport accidents.
In Japan, geomagnetic storms were accompanied by a 33% increase in suicide.
In Japan, geomagnetic storms were accompanied by a 30% increase in accidents.
"Shivers (1987) found measurable increase in the
blood-brain permeability due to MF exposures of rats to
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures. These
changes might result in altered concentrations of nutrients and of xenobiotics, which could compromise the
homeostatic state necessary for emotional and mental
well being"
MRI procedures are accompanied by measurable increases in blood-brain barrier permeability, which might result in altered concentrations of nutrients and xenobiotics, which could compromise the homeostatic state necessary for emotional and mental well being.
" A recent
study reporting suicide in Canadian electrical utility
workers (Baris, 1996) found a potential association
between suicide and the geometric mean (GM) of the
levels of exposure to electric fields. The exposure of
study subjects was estimated from their job histories and
determination of personal exposure of current workers
with similar job activities to those of study subjects.
Because the most pronounced increase in risk of suicide
occurred in subjects in a medium exposure group (GM =
23.1 - 40.3 Vim) rather than in a high exposure group
(GM = 136.1 - 308.6 Vim), these findings are hard to
explain unless the health effect is not dose related. Perry
(1981) reported an association between residential exposure to MFs and suicide. The “mean ± standard deviation” of magnetic field strength for the suicide addresses
was “867 + 1,320 f.LG,” which was significantly higher
than of “709 + 1,110 f.LG” for the controls. Because exposure was ascertained after the occurrence of a suicide and
measured at the entrances to the residence of the subjects
rather than by actual measurements of personal exposure,
the findings of Perry (1981) may be questionable. Therefore, current findings on the association between suicide
and EMFs are inconclusive.
Residential exposure to increased magnetic fields is accompanied by a 22% increase in suicide (709 to 867) - Perry, et al 1981. “Because exposure was ascertained after the occurrence of a suicide and measured at the entrances to the residence of the subjects rather than by actual measurements of personal exposure,
the findings of Perry (1981) may be questionable”.
"Occup Environ Med 1996 Jan;53(1):17-24
A case cohort study of suicide in relation to exposure to electric and magnetic fields among electrical utility workers.
Baris D, Armstrong BG, Deadman J, Theriault G.
Department of Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
OBJECTIVES–This case cohort study examines whether there is an association between exposure to electric and magnetic fields and suicide in a population of 21,744 male electrical utility workers from the Canadian Province of Quebec. METHODS–49 deaths from suicide were identified between 1970 and 1988 and a subcohort was selected comprising a 1% random sample from this cohort as a basis for risk estimation. Cumulative and current exposures to electric fields, magnetic fields, and pulsed electromagnetic fields (as recorded by the POSITRON meter) were estimated for the subcohort and cases through a job exposure matrix. Two versions of each of these six indices were calculated, one based on the arithmetic mean (AM), and one on the geometric mean (GM) of field strengths. RESULTS–For cumulative exposure, rate ratios (RR) for all three fields showed mostly small non-significant increases in the medium and high exposure groups. The most increased risk was found in the medium exposure group for the GM of the electric field (RR = 2.76, 95% CI 1.15-6.62)."
Working on electrical utilities in Canada was accompanied by a 176% increase in suicide.
“Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation (“Yes” response) in the past year among Chinese college students was 7.5%. In binary logistic regression analysis, suicidal ideation was significantly correlated with less subjective social support (OR: 2.49, p = 0.049), lower utilization of social support (OR: 13.28, p = 0.012), more depressive symptoms (OR:4.96, p = 0.005), and more than 5 h of daily smartphone use (OR: 2.60, p = 0.025).”
In China, more than 5 hours of smartphone use per day was accompanied by a 160% increase in suicidal ideation.
“Girls who used social media for at least two to three hours per day at the beginning of the study—when they were about 13 years old—and then greatly increased their use over time were at a higher clinical risk for suicide as emerging adults.”
“Psychiatrists too have noticed a correlation between geomagnetic activity and suicide rates. A review of 13 years of South African data on suicides and magnetic storms in South African Psychiatry Review, vol. 6 p. 24) suggested a link.”
“He also presented hospital data from 6000 pregnant women who had routine scans of their fetus’s heart rates between 1995 and 2003. In 15% of the fetuses, periods of disturbances in their heart rates coincided with periods of high geomagnetic activity.”
In fetuses, geomagnetic storms are accompanied by a 15% increase in heart rate disturbances.
Jeff Miller, Libertyville, IL, November 30, 2022
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