Powerlines and dementia
11 April, 2026
Living near a high voltage powerline could increase the risk of dementia mortality, according to a recent study from Switzerland.1
Researchers followed a group of over three-and-a-half million adults for an 18-year period (2001-2018), looking for associations between magnetic fields from high voltage powerlines or railway lines with neurodegenerative diseases.
‘In this large-scale, nationwide cohort study with nearly two decades of follow-up, we observed a positive association between long-term residential ELF-MF [magnetic field] exposure from high voltage power lines and mortality from Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia,’ the authors concluded.
As for living near railway lines, they authors said the link was less clear.
High magnetic fields have previously been linked with increased rates of childhood leukemia, leukemia and dementia in workers. In 2001, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified magnetic fields above 3-4 milliGauss as Class 2B (‘possible’) carcinogens.
So reducing exposure makes sense.
It isn’t just high voltage powerlines that expose people to high magnetic fields. Magnetic fields in homes are also generated by meter boxes, conductive plumbing, transformers and appliances. Exposure depends on proximity to these sources and the length of time they spend close to them.
To shed light on what magnetic fields are present in typical Australian homes, Dr Malka Halgamuge and Lyn McLean reported on magnetic fields in 100 residences in a paper published in 2018.2
‘We show that simple precautions can be applied to reduce exposure to ELF-MFs in residences and thereby minimize potential risks to health and wellbeing,’ they wrote.
1. Nekane Sandoval-Diez, Nicolas Loizeau, Anke Huss, Martin Röösli, Danielle Vienneau, Long-term residential magnetic field exposure and neurodegenerative disease mortality: An 18-year nationwide cohort study in Switzerland, Environment International, Volume 208, 2026, 110145, ISSN 0160-4120, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2026.110145.
2. Malka N. Halgamuge, Lyn McLean, Measurement and analysis of power-frequency magnetic fields in residences: Results from a pilot study, Measurement, Volume 125, 2018, Pages 415-424, ISSN 0263-2241, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2018.05.007.