Children living near overhead power lines not prone to developing leukaemia

A new study has found that children who live near overhead power lines do not have an increased risk of developing leukaemia.

Data on 16,500 children who developed leukaemia in Britain between 1962 and 2008 was analysed.

The paper found no increased leukaemia risk for those living near power lines from the 1980s onwards - but a higher risk did exist in the 1960s and 70s, the BBC reported.

The researchers said the findings were "reassuring" but work was being done to understand the historical patterns.

This research, by the Childhood Cancer Research Group at the University of Oxford, used cancer information drawn from the National Registry of Childhood Tumours.

The study, funded by Children with Cancer UK, included nearly 16,500 children born in Britain who were diagnosed with leukaemia between 1962 and 2008.

They were compared with around 20,000 children who were born in the same area who did not develop cancer.

When the data for the whole period was analysed it showed no increased risk from living near power lines.

However, when the analysis was broken down into decades, an historic increased risk was seen for those born in the 1960s and 70s, who lived within about one-third of a mile (600m) of a power line.

Those born from the 1980s onwards did not have an increased risk.