Letters to the Editor
In Reply
We thank your correspondents for their comments. We agree that further epidemiological studies will be useful in the future.
Our study was actually more of an ecological study (1), and it was therefore not possible to consider individual factors (additional risk factors, different environmental and lifestyle factors, confounders, the children’s exact address). Further studies that consider these factors (which includes other environmental hazards) should be carried out—in addition to regular monitoring and reporting of the incidence of childhood leukemia in the vicinity of (decommissioned/no longer operational) NPPs.
The question of whether and how the predominant direction of the wind should be taken into account has been asked repeatedly in recent years. Interestingly, however, in Krümmel in particular all cases except for three were situated to the north, west, and south of the NPP. This means that 16 cases would not be considered in the context of the suggested study design.
DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.m2023.0283
On behalf of the authors
Emilio Gianicolo
Institut für Medizinische Biometrie, Epidemiologie und Informatik der Universitätsmedizin Mainz an der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
emilio.gianicolo@uni-mainz.de
Conflict of interest statement
The authors of all contributions declare that no conflict of interest exists.
| 1. | Russo A, Terracini B, Blettner M, Gianicolo E: The incidence of leukemia in children living near nuclear power plants in Germany (2004–2019)—a registry-based study. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2023; 120: 679–80 VOLLTEXT |
