LONDON: Call it a "high-tension" finding.
Researchers have identified a faulty gene which they claim can make children who live near high-voltage power lines more vulnerable to leukaemia.
Previous studies suggested that exposure to the electromagnetic fields created around power lines can cause damage to the DNA, or genetic blueprint, of animal cells. Now, a Chinese team has found a clear link between overhead power lines and childhood leukaemia.
The researchers at the Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai has revealed that a faulty variant of the XRCC1 gene quadruples risk of cancers of blood and bone marrow for carriers who live within 330 ft of an overhead cable.
Their latest research has also shown that one in 20 kids inherits a faulty copy of the gene that normally helps repair DNA damage, making them more vulnerable to actually developing leukaemia when young.
The researchers have based their findings on a study of 123 kids under 15 suffering from leukaemia.
They found that those with the faulty XRCC1 gene were 4.3 times more likely to develop leukaemia if they lived within 330 ft of a power line or an electricity transformer, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
The defective variant gene has previously been linked to increases in risk of breast and prostate cancer developing.
Louis Slesin, Editor of Microwave News, a US website that reports on EMFs and their health risks, was quoted as saying: "The study will need to be repeated, but it is like finding the missing piece of the jigsaw."
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