Differential impacts of co-exposures to ELF-EMFs and noise on prostate-specific antigen levels: A longitudinal study

Animal studies indicating an association of exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) and noise with reproductive dysfunctions. Nonetheless, the potential impacts of exposure to these hazardous agents on the human prostate gland remain unidentified. To assess the relationship between co-exposure to ELF-EMF and noise and the levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a longitudinal study was conducted over eight years among workers at a thermal power station from 2016 to 2024. The 8-h equivalent noise level (LAeq and LZeq; dB unit) and the 8-h average of ELF-EMFs (mG unit) were calculated to measure noise and ELF-EMF exposures, respectively. The changes in the levels of PSA were estimated by different linear regression models. In total, we examined data from 974 observations. Per 10-dB increment of LAeq, the significant increases in the log-transformed PSA levels were found in both unadjusted (Coefficient: 0.068 and 95 % CI: 0.044, 0.091) and adjusted (Coefficient: 0.040 and 95 % CI = 0.012, 0.069) models. This association remained significant after further adjusting for ELF-EMFs (no significant effect modification for ELF-EMFs). In all regression models, no significant changes were observed in the PSA levels per unit raise in the ELF-EMFs levels. No significant interaction was found between ELF-EMFs and noise. In conclusion, our findings indicate that noise may affect prostate health. Additional studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms involved and to validate this connection.