Accepted Manuscript Title: Cancer and body height ¨ Author: Orjan Hallberg PII: DOI: Reference:
S0928-4680(14)00026-1 http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.pathophys.2014.05.001 PATPHY 807
To appear in:
Pathophysiology
Received date: Accepted date:
25-2-2014 6-5-2014
¨ Hallberg, Cancer and body height, Pathophysiology (2014), Please cite this article as: O. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pathophys.2014.05.001 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 1
Title page Article type: Original article
ip t
Manuscript title: Cancer and body height Running title: Cancer vs. height
cr
Key words: Cancer, body height, length, melanoma, breast cancer, growth
Author: Örjan Hallberg MSc
M
Affiliation: Hallberg Independent Research*)
an
us
hormone, DNA repair, radiation
Address: Brattforsgatan 3, 123450 Farsta, Sweden
te
d
e-mail: [email protected]
Ac ce p
*) This research institution was founded in 2001 and is registered by the Swedish National Patent and Registration Office.
Page 1 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 2
Abstract Objective: To test the hypothesis that body-resonant radiation may explain the correlation
ip t
between body height and cancer risk observed in most countries around the world.
cr
Methods: Data on cancer incidence and body height were collected from different
us
countries and also from different regions within Sweden. Information on local FM broadcasting transmitters was also collected in Sweden to determine whether they correlated with the cancer
an
incidence and body heights reported in each geographical area. Because broadcasting radiation may be concentrated by metal spring mattresses, we also attempted to collect information on the
M
use of these mattresses in different parts of the world.
d
Results: A strong association was found between melanoma incidence and body height,
te
both in different countries and in different municipalities within Sweden. At the same time, a
Ac ce p
very strong association was found between cancer incidence, mean body height, and the effective number of FM transmitters covering a given locality. Available data on the use of metal spring mattresses in different parts of the world also correlated well with data on cancer rates and body heights.
Conclusions: The hypothesis that body-resonant radiation may affect both cancer incidence and body height was supported by the strong associations found in this study. The hypothesis was further supported by the correlation found between the incidence of cancer, body height, and the use of metal spring mattresses.
Page 2 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 3
Introduction
ip t
Several papers have reported a clear association between cancer incidence and body height [1-2]. A very strong correlation between cancer and the use (%) of metal spring mattresses has
cr
also been reported. [3] It also appears that sleep position can affect cancer risk [4] and that longer
us
sleep duration may increase cancer risk [5, 6].
By collecting data on body heights and the use of metal spring mattresses in different
an
countries, we analyzed whether body height was correlated to the use of metal spring mattresses.
M
We hypothesized that metal spring mattresses might act as reflecting radio wave antennae, and this might disturb DNA repair capacity in individuals of all ages; furthermore, individuals of
d
younger ages might be affected by an increase in the production of the growth hormone, IGF-1.
te
We therefore postulated that populations in countries with high metal spring mattress usages
Ac ce p
should show both a higher cancer incidence and a greater average body height. Before 1955, FM broadcasting had not been introduced in the Nordic countries; thus, the influence from metal spring mattresses on cancer and body height was zero. The cancer incidence recorded at that time would be expected to be similar as the current rates in countries where metal spring mattresses are not commonly used. According to WHO, radiation energy in the FM band around 100 MHz (with half wave lengths close to the height of the human body), is more than 5 times more efficiently absorbed by the human body than other wave lengths, [8].
Page 3 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 4
The aim of this study was to determine whether the association between cancer incidence, body height, and the use of metal spring mattresses in different parts of the world supported our
ip t
hypothesis.
cr
Methods
us
Data on the world cancer incidence were collected from the International Agency of Cancer Research (IARC) cancer registries. Detailed data on melanoma incidence in different
an
municipalities in Sweden were obtained from the Swedish cancer registry; we used the mean incidence for the years 1989 to 1993. International body height data were obtained from a
M
Wikipedia search, and body height data from Swedish municipalities were obtained with support from different counties in Sweden. Information on the use of metal spring mattresses in various
Ac ce p
Results
te
d
parts of the world was provided by a Swedish bed manufacturer, Dux [3].
Figure 1 shows that the total cancer rate increased with body height, as reported from different countries around the world. Each symbol represents one country. Figure 2 shows the strong correlation between breast cancer and the use of metal spring mattresses in different parts of the world, including Japan, South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, Western Europe, Sweden, and the USA.
Figure 3 gives data on average body height for men and the average use of metal spring mattresses in different parts of the world. Current estimates of the average use in different countries can be found at an independent research website (http://hir.nu/Spring.htm).
Page 4 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 5
ip t
Figure 4 shows that the relationship between the heights of men and women is similar all
cr
over the world.
Figure 5 shows that there is also an exponential association between body height and
us
melanoma incidence around the world. All Swedish municipalities had roughly the same rate of
an
metal spring mattress use; thus, the difference observed is believed to mainly depend on different FM wave radiation patterns within Sweden.
M
In Sweden, data has shown that the melanoma incidence was strongly associated with the number of main FM broadcasting transmitters covering a given area [7]. Figure 6 shows the
d
average incidence of melanoma in all Swedish communities (municipalities) that were covered
te
by the indicated number of transmitters. In total, there are 290 communities in Sweden.
Ac ce p
Next, we investigated how the height of Swedish men changed over time to determine whether there had been any sudden increase in body height during the 20th century. We examined the registered heights of young men due for military service at 18 years of age, and compared average body heights in the years 1955 to 1965. This was the time period when a completely new public environment was formed, as radio and TV transmitters were built to cover the whole country. Over the whole 20th century the average body height increased. It is unlikely that this was due to a sudden abundance of food, which generally is believed to be the case. Take, for example, the fact that the average height of people in Japan remains around 165 cm, similar to that of the Western population before the 20th century. Should we interpret that to mean that the Japanese are undernourished?
Page 5 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 6
Figure 7 shows that the average body height increased suddenly by 2 cm in just 5 years, from 1958 to 1963. It is also interesting to note that, at a time when all 18 year old men had lived
ip t
in the new environment all their lives, body length stabilized at 179 cm. However, from the year 1997, body height started to increase again. This suggests that the effect may have increased with
cr
the introduction of additional radiation, other than FM radio waves, in the air.
us
To test the hypothesis that body height was influenced by hormones disturbed by radio
an
waves, we asked the 21 geographical regions in Sweden to provide data on average body height from all municipalities (communities) within each region. Sweden has 290 communities, and
M
several regions supplied data. From this data, both the incidence of melanoma and body height appeared to be associated with the number of main FM radio broadcasting transmitters in the
d
surrounding area, see Figures 6 and 8. The body height was significantly associated with the
te
melanoma incidence in the Swedish municipalities according to Figure 9. The melanoma
Ac ce p
incidence was less associated with the total power density, see Figure 10. The fraction of 18 year old men taller than 190 cm increased rapidly after 1950, see Figure 11. Furthermore, body height in Sweden was significantly correlated with the incidence of melanoma (Figure 9). It also appears that breast cancer was correlated with body height. Figure 12 shows body height among women and the breast cancer incidence, based on reports provided by some municipalities in Sweden.
The number of transmitters shown on the X-axis of Figure 8 was mainly based on overlapping circles on a coverage map of the main broadcasting transmitters in Sweden. This number was clearly not a precise measure of the radiation characteristics at every spot in the
Page 6 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 7
country. However, the melanoma incidence in Swedish communities was highly correlated to the number of FM broadcasting transmitters covering those communities, Figure 6. Therefore, we
ip t
used the melanoma incidence within Sweden, which varied from 1 to 34/100 000 person years, to recalculate the corresponding effective number of local transmitters in regions all over the
cr
country. In Figure 13, the breast cancer incidence and the mean body height of women is shown
us
vs. this effective number of local transmitters.
an
Discussion
In 1999, we investigated the association between total power density from the surrounding
M
main FM transmitters and the incidence of melanoma. The association was quite weak and the R2
d
value was around 8 % (Figure 10).
te
However, the association became much stronger when the melanoma incidence was
Ac ce p
correlated to the number of transmitters covering a local area (Figure 14). This simple model explained a substantial amount of the variation (r2=0.2975), and showed high significance. However, some variation remained to be explained. One factor that was not accounted for was the geographical distribution of the transmitters. For example, three transmitters in one line would produce resonance effects equivalent to that of one single transmitter. Moreover, in a municipality by the sea with transmitters along the coastline, the likelihood that a bed would be placed directly parallel to the coast is about 50%. And, if there are transmitters on the other side of a lake, they may cover up for those sleeping perpendicular to the coastline. Thus, the likelihood of sleeping in a resonant position would be very high if there are transmitters placed both on the opposite side of the lake and along the shore. This was, in fact,
Page 7 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 8
the situation for the individuals represented in the top circle in Figure 13 (at 3.5 transmitters). That town was Ödeshög, and it also earned a bronze medal for breast cancer incidence (top 3 out
ip t
of 289 communities).
cr
Conclusions
us
Our results suggested that body-resonant radiation may have been a major contributor to the cause of the cancer boom that has occurred since 1955. Although cancer is unlikely to occur
an
in an individual just because they are tall, the risk may be high for an individual who has continued to sleep in a bed that acts as a radio wave antenna, which initially made their body
M
grow so rapidly. It is also known that the cancer risk is increasing with the number of hours you
d
sleep in Western countries where metal spring mattresses are common, Ref [5-6]. But in Japan,
te
where people mostly sleep on non-metal futon beds, the cancer risk is reduced by sleeping time. In the long term, a metal spring mattress is not a good idea – it is best to get rid of that mattress!
Ac ce p
Like the mattress owned by the author – let it rest in peace, ref (8). The number of transmitters in an area was initially determined by counting the transmitters within overlapping circles on coverage maps. However, this is not a precise measure of the radiation level at a specific place. Instead, we concluded that the regional melanoma incidence would a better tool for estimating radiation levels within a country. Between countries, the melanoma incidence would be a good tool for estimating the % of metal spring mattresses used in a country. This hypothesis could be readily tested with data from a standard marketing survey in several countries.
Page 8 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 9
ip t
Conflict of interest statement
cr
There is no conflict of interest known to the author related to this work.
us
References
1. D. Gunnell, M. Okasha, G. Davey Smith, S. E. Oliver, J. Sandhu, and J. M. P. Holly.
an
Height, Leg Length, and Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review. Epidemiologic Reviews
M
2001; 23:313-342
2. Green J, Cairns BJ, Casabonne D, Wright FL, Reeves G, Beral V, Height and cancer
d
incidence in the Million Women Study: prospective cohort, and meta-analysis of
te
prospective studies of height and total cancer risk, Lancet Oncol. 2011; 12:785-94.
Ac ce p
3. Hallberg O. Bed types and cancer incidence, Pathophysiology. 2010; 17:161. 4. Hallberg Ö, Johansson O, Sleep on the right side—Get cancer on the left? Pathophysiology 2010; 17:157-160
5. JANE A. McELROY, et al, Duration of sleep and breast cancer risk in a large populationbased case–control study, J Sleep Res. 2006;15:241-9 6. Pinheiro SP, Schernhammer ES, Tworoger SS, Michels KB. Cancer Res. 2006; 66:55215.
Page 9 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 10
7.
Hallberg Ö, Johansson O, FM broadcasting exposure time and malignant melanoma
ip t
incidence, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 2005; 24:1-8. WHO fact sheet #304 May 2006
9.
Hallberg. Rest in peace! http://mobilstopp.nu/Bilder/RIPbMadrass.jpg
Ac ce p
te
d
M
an
us
cr
8.
Page 10 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 11
Figure legends
in 100 countries around the world. Each symbol represents one country.
ip t
Figure 1. Cancer rate (age standardized rate at world standard, ASRw) vs. average body height
cr
Figure 2. Breast cancer incidence vs. the use of metal spring mattresses. Symbols represent
us
(from left to right) Japan, South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, Western Europe,
an
Sweden, and the USA.
Figure 3. Body height vs. use of metal spring mattresses. Body height is the average height of
M
males (m) in the following countries (from left to right): Japan, South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, Western Europe, Sweden, and the USA, the last three in decreasing body
te
d
heights.
Figure 4. A linear relationship is found between mean body heights of women and men in all
Ac ce p
100 countries studied.
Figure 5. Age-standardized incidence of melanoma among men is clearly associated with body height. Each blue symbol represents one country. The red symbols represent municipalities (communities) within Sweden. The p-values indicate that the linear relations are significant. Figure 6. Melanoma incidence in Swedish communities, relative to the number of FM broadcasting transmitters covering the communities. [7] Each symbol represents the average incidence of at least five communities. Figure 7. Average body height of Swedish men, 18 years old, during the 20th century.
Page 11 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 12
ip t
igure 8. Mean body height of men and women vs. the number of main FM broadcasting transmitters covering each community in Sweden. Included are also the equations for the
cr
trendlines together with very low p-values indicating high significance.
us
Figure 9. Body heights of men (yellow) and women (red) vs. melanoma incidence in
an
different communities in Sweden.
Figure 10. Melanoma incidence for men and women in Swedish communities vs. total power density received in each community from surrounding main FM broadcasting transmitters.
M
Figure 11. The fraction of 18-year old boys with a body height over 190 cm started to
d
increase very fast after mid 20th century in Sweden.
Ac ce p
te
Figure 12. Body height and breast cancer incidence for women in Swedish communities.
Figure 13. Breast cancer and the mean body height of women vs. the effective number of local FM transmitters in Sweden. Included are also the equations for the trend lines together with very low p-values indicating high significance. Figure 14. Melanoma incidence is strongly correlated to the number of transmitters with overlapping coverage areas.
Page 12 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 13
Figures
ip t
400 350
cr
300 250
us
200 150 100 50 0 1,55
1,6
1,65
1,7
1,75
an
Cancer incidence ASRw (1/100 000)
450
1,8
1,85
1,9
M
Average body height (m)
Ac ce p
te
d
Figure 1.
Figure 2
Page 13 of 19
an
us
cr
ip t
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 14
Figure 4
Ac ce p
te
d
M
Figure 3
Page 14 of 19
an
us
cr
ip t
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 15
Figure 6
Ac ce p
te
d
M
Figure 5
Page 15 of 19
us
cr
ip t
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 16
Figure 8
Ac ce p
te
d
M
an
Figure 7
Page 16 of 19
an
us
cr
ip t
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 17
Figure 9.
M
40
y = 0,0215x + 10,794 R² = 0,0839
35
d
30
te
25 20 15
Ac ce p
Melanoma incidence (1/100 000)
Melanoma inc vs power density
10 5 0
0
100
200 300 400 500 FM power density (µW/m2)
600
700
Figure 10
Page 17 of 19
us
cr
ip t
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 18
Ac ce p
te
d
M
an
Figure 11.
Figure 12.
Page 18 of 19
an
us
cr
ip t
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 19
Ac ce p
te
d
M
Figure 13.
Figure 14.
Page 19 of 19
S0928-4680(14)00026-1 http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.pathophys.2014.05.001 PATPHY 807
To appear in:
Pathophysiology
Received date: Accepted date:
25-2-2014 6-5-2014
¨ Hallberg, Cancer and body height, Pathophysiology (2014), Please cite this article as: O. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pathophys.2014.05.001 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 1
Title page Article type: Original article
ip t
Manuscript title: Cancer and body height Running title: Cancer vs. height
cr
Key words: Cancer, body height, length, melanoma, breast cancer, growth
Author: Örjan Hallberg MSc
M
Affiliation: Hallberg Independent Research*)
an
us
hormone, DNA repair, radiation
Address: Brattforsgatan 3, 123450 Farsta, Sweden
te
d
e-mail: [email protected]
Ac ce p
*) This research institution was founded in 2001 and is registered by the Swedish National Patent and Registration Office.
Page 1 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 2
Abstract Objective: To test the hypothesis that body-resonant radiation may explain the correlation
ip t
between body height and cancer risk observed in most countries around the world.
cr
Methods: Data on cancer incidence and body height were collected from different
us
countries and also from different regions within Sweden. Information on local FM broadcasting transmitters was also collected in Sweden to determine whether they correlated with the cancer
an
incidence and body heights reported in each geographical area. Because broadcasting radiation may be concentrated by metal spring mattresses, we also attempted to collect information on the
M
use of these mattresses in different parts of the world.
d
Results: A strong association was found between melanoma incidence and body height,
te
both in different countries and in different municipalities within Sweden. At the same time, a
Ac ce p
very strong association was found between cancer incidence, mean body height, and the effective number of FM transmitters covering a given locality. Available data on the use of metal spring mattresses in different parts of the world also correlated well with data on cancer rates and body heights.
Conclusions: The hypothesis that body-resonant radiation may affect both cancer incidence and body height was supported by the strong associations found in this study. The hypothesis was further supported by the correlation found between the incidence of cancer, body height, and the use of metal spring mattresses.
Page 2 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 3
Introduction
ip t
Several papers have reported a clear association between cancer incidence and body height [1-2]. A very strong correlation between cancer and the use (%) of metal spring mattresses has
cr
also been reported. [3] It also appears that sleep position can affect cancer risk [4] and that longer
us
sleep duration may increase cancer risk [5, 6].
By collecting data on body heights and the use of metal spring mattresses in different
an
countries, we analyzed whether body height was correlated to the use of metal spring mattresses.
M
We hypothesized that metal spring mattresses might act as reflecting radio wave antennae, and this might disturb DNA repair capacity in individuals of all ages; furthermore, individuals of
d
younger ages might be affected by an increase in the production of the growth hormone, IGF-1.
te
We therefore postulated that populations in countries with high metal spring mattress usages
Ac ce p
should show both a higher cancer incidence and a greater average body height. Before 1955, FM broadcasting had not been introduced in the Nordic countries; thus, the influence from metal spring mattresses on cancer and body height was zero. The cancer incidence recorded at that time would be expected to be similar as the current rates in countries where metal spring mattresses are not commonly used. According to WHO, radiation energy in the FM band around 100 MHz (with half wave lengths close to the height of the human body), is more than 5 times more efficiently absorbed by the human body than other wave lengths, [8].
Page 3 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 4
The aim of this study was to determine whether the association between cancer incidence, body height, and the use of metal spring mattresses in different parts of the world supported our
ip t
hypothesis.
cr
Methods
us
Data on the world cancer incidence were collected from the International Agency of Cancer Research (IARC) cancer registries. Detailed data on melanoma incidence in different
an
municipalities in Sweden were obtained from the Swedish cancer registry; we used the mean incidence for the years 1989 to 1993. International body height data were obtained from a
M
Wikipedia search, and body height data from Swedish municipalities were obtained with support from different counties in Sweden. Information on the use of metal spring mattresses in various
Ac ce p
Results
te
d
parts of the world was provided by a Swedish bed manufacturer, Dux [3].
Figure 1 shows that the total cancer rate increased with body height, as reported from different countries around the world. Each symbol represents one country. Figure 2 shows the strong correlation between breast cancer and the use of metal spring mattresses in different parts of the world, including Japan, South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, Western Europe, Sweden, and the USA.
Figure 3 gives data on average body height for men and the average use of metal spring mattresses in different parts of the world. Current estimates of the average use in different countries can be found at an independent research website (http://hir.nu/Spring.htm).
Page 4 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 5
ip t
Figure 4 shows that the relationship between the heights of men and women is similar all
cr
over the world.
Figure 5 shows that there is also an exponential association between body height and
us
melanoma incidence around the world. All Swedish municipalities had roughly the same rate of
an
metal spring mattress use; thus, the difference observed is believed to mainly depend on different FM wave radiation patterns within Sweden.
M
In Sweden, data has shown that the melanoma incidence was strongly associated with the number of main FM broadcasting transmitters covering a given area [7]. Figure 6 shows the
d
average incidence of melanoma in all Swedish communities (municipalities) that were covered
te
by the indicated number of transmitters. In total, there are 290 communities in Sweden.
Ac ce p
Next, we investigated how the height of Swedish men changed over time to determine whether there had been any sudden increase in body height during the 20th century. We examined the registered heights of young men due for military service at 18 years of age, and compared average body heights in the years 1955 to 1965. This was the time period when a completely new public environment was formed, as radio and TV transmitters were built to cover the whole country. Over the whole 20th century the average body height increased. It is unlikely that this was due to a sudden abundance of food, which generally is believed to be the case. Take, for example, the fact that the average height of people in Japan remains around 165 cm, similar to that of the Western population before the 20th century. Should we interpret that to mean that the Japanese are undernourished?
Page 5 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 6
Figure 7 shows that the average body height increased suddenly by 2 cm in just 5 years, from 1958 to 1963. It is also interesting to note that, at a time when all 18 year old men had lived
ip t
in the new environment all their lives, body length stabilized at 179 cm. However, from the year 1997, body height started to increase again. This suggests that the effect may have increased with
cr
the introduction of additional radiation, other than FM radio waves, in the air.
us
To test the hypothesis that body height was influenced by hormones disturbed by radio
an
waves, we asked the 21 geographical regions in Sweden to provide data on average body height from all municipalities (communities) within each region. Sweden has 290 communities, and
M
several regions supplied data. From this data, both the incidence of melanoma and body height appeared to be associated with the number of main FM radio broadcasting transmitters in the
d
surrounding area, see Figures 6 and 8. The body height was significantly associated with the
te
melanoma incidence in the Swedish municipalities according to Figure 9. The melanoma
Ac ce p
incidence was less associated with the total power density, see Figure 10. The fraction of 18 year old men taller than 190 cm increased rapidly after 1950, see Figure 11. Furthermore, body height in Sweden was significantly correlated with the incidence of melanoma (Figure 9). It also appears that breast cancer was correlated with body height. Figure 12 shows body height among women and the breast cancer incidence, based on reports provided by some municipalities in Sweden.
The number of transmitters shown on the X-axis of Figure 8 was mainly based on overlapping circles on a coverage map of the main broadcasting transmitters in Sweden. This number was clearly not a precise measure of the radiation characteristics at every spot in the
Page 6 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 7
country. However, the melanoma incidence in Swedish communities was highly correlated to the number of FM broadcasting transmitters covering those communities, Figure 6. Therefore, we
ip t
used the melanoma incidence within Sweden, which varied from 1 to 34/100 000 person years, to recalculate the corresponding effective number of local transmitters in regions all over the
cr
country. In Figure 13, the breast cancer incidence and the mean body height of women is shown
us
vs. this effective number of local transmitters.
an
Discussion
In 1999, we investigated the association between total power density from the surrounding
M
main FM transmitters and the incidence of melanoma. The association was quite weak and the R2
d
value was around 8 % (Figure 10).
te
However, the association became much stronger when the melanoma incidence was
Ac ce p
correlated to the number of transmitters covering a local area (Figure 14). This simple model explained a substantial amount of the variation (r2=0.2975), and showed high significance. However, some variation remained to be explained. One factor that was not accounted for was the geographical distribution of the transmitters. For example, three transmitters in one line would produce resonance effects equivalent to that of one single transmitter. Moreover, in a municipality by the sea with transmitters along the coastline, the likelihood that a bed would be placed directly parallel to the coast is about 50%. And, if there are transmitters on the other side of a lake, they may cover up for those sleeping perpendicular to the coastline. Thus, the likelihood of sleeping in a resonant position would be very high if there are transmitters placed both on the opposite side of the lake and along the shore. This was, in fact,
Page 7 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 8
the situation for the individuals represented in the top circle in Figure 13 (at 3.5 transmitters). That town was Ödeshög, and it also earned a bronze medal for breast cancer incidence (top 3 out
ip t
of 289 communities).
cr
Conclusions
us
Our results suggested that body-resonant radiation may have been a major contributor to the cause of the cancer boom that has occurred since 1955. Although cancer is unlikely to occur
an
in an individual just because they are tall, the risk may be high for an individual who has continued to sleep in a bed that acts as a radio wave antenna, which initially made their body
M
grow so rapidly. It is also known that the cancer risk is increasing with the number of hours you
d
sleep in Western countries where metal spring mattresses are common, Ref [5-6]. But in Japan,
te
where people mostly sleep on non-metal futon beds, the cancer risk is reduced by sleeping time. In the long term, a metal spring mattress is not a good idea – it is best to get rid of that mattress!
Ac ce p
Like the mattress owned by the author – let it rest in peace, ref (8). The number of transmitters in an area was initially determined by counting the transmitters within overlapping circles on coverage maps. However, this is not a precise measure of the radiation level at a specific place. Instead, we concluded that the regional melanoma incidence would a better tool for estimating radiation levels within a country. Between countries, the melanoma incidence would be a good tool for estimating the % of metal spring mattresses used in a country. This hypothesis could be readily tested with data from a standard marketing survey in several countries.
Page 8 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 9
ip t
Conflict of interest statement
cr
There is no conflict of interest known to the author related to this work.
us
References
1. D. Gunnell, M. Okasha, G. Davey Smith, S. E. Oliver, J. Sandhu, and J. M. P. Holly.
an
Height, Leg Length, and Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review. Epidemiologic Reviews
M
2001; 23:313-342
2. Green J, Cairns BJ, Casabonne D, Wright FL, Reeves G, Beral V, Height and cancer
d
incidence in the Million Women Study: prospective cohort, and meta-analysis of
te
prospective studies of height and total cancer risk, Lancet Oncol. 2011; 12:785-94.
Ac ce p
3. Hallberg O. Bed types and cancer incidence, Pathophysiology. 2010; 17:161. 4. Hallberg Ö, Johansson O, Sleep on the right side—Get cancer on the left? Pathophysiology 2010; 17:157-160
5. JANE A. McELROY, et al, Duration of sleep and breast cancer risk in a large populationbased case–control study, J Sleep Res. 2006;15:241-9 6. Pinheiro SP, Schernhammer ES, Tworoger SS, Michels KB. Cancer Res. 2006; 66:55215.
Page 9 of 19
2012-10-20/Rev C: 2014-02-19 10
7.
Hallberg Ö, Johansson O, FM broadcasting exposure time and malignant melanoma
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incidence, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine 2005; 24:1-8. WHO fact sheet #304 May 2006
9.
Hallberg. Rest in peace! http://mobilstopp.nu/Bilder/RIPbMadrass.jpg
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Figure legends
in 100 countries around the world. Each symbol represents one country.
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Figure 1. Cancer rate (age standardized rate at world standard, ASRw) vs. average body height
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Figure 2. Breast cancer incidence vs. the use of metal spring mattresses. Symbols represent
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(from left to right) Japan, South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, Western Europe,
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Sweden, and the USA.
Figure 3. Body height vs. use of metal spring mattresses. Body height is the average height of
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males (m) in the following countries (from left to right): Japan, South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Australia, Western Europe, Sweden, and the USA, the last three in decreasing body
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heights.
Figure 4. A linear relationship is found between mean body heights of women and men in all
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100 countries studied.
Figure 5. Age-standardized incidence of melanoma among men is clearly associated with body height. Each blue symbol represents one country. The red symbols represent municipalities (communities) within Sweden. The p-values indicate that the linear relations are significant. Figure 6. Melanoma incidence in Swedish communities, relative to the number of FM broadcasting transmitters covering the communities. [7] Each symbol represents the average incidence of at least five communities. Figure 7. Average body height of Swedish men, 18 years old, during the 20th century.
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igure 8. Mean body height of men and women vs. the number of main FM broadcasting transmitters covering each community in Sweden. Included are also the equations for the
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trendlines together with very low p-values indicating high significance.
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Figure 9. Body heights of men (yellow) and women (red) vs. melanoma incidence in
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different communities in Sweden.
Figure 10. Melanoma incidence for men and women in Swedish communities vs. total power density received in each community from surrounding main FM broadcasting transmitters.
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Figure 11. The fraction of 18-year old boys with a body height over 190 cm started to
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increase very fast after mid 20th century in Sweden.
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Figure 12. Body height and breast cancer incidence for women in Swedish communities.
Figure 13. Breast cancer and the mean body height of women vs. the effective number of local FM transmitters in Sweden. Included are also the equations for the trend lines together with very low p-values indicating high significance. Figure 14. Melanoma incidence is strongly correlated to the number of transmitters with overlapping coverage areas.
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Figures
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400 350
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300 250
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200 150 100 50 0 1,55
1,6
1,65
1,7
1,75
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Cancer incidence ASRw (1/100 000)
450
1,8
1,85
1,9
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Average body height (m)
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Figure 1.
Figure 2
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Figure 4
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Figure 3
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Figure 6
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Figure 5
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Figure 8
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Figure 7
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Figure 9.
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y = 0,0215x + 10,794 R² = 0,0839
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30
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25 20 15
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Melanoma incidence (1/100 000)
Melanoma inc vs power density
10 5 0
0
100
200 300 400 500 FM power density (µW/m2)
600
700
Figure 10
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Figure 11.
Figure 12.
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Figure 13.
Figure 14.
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