Kogi Institute for Science of Labour , Kawasaki , Japan

Research in epidemiology is gaining momentum in the Asia-Pacific region for establishing the coping strategies in dealing with rapidly increasing work-related health risks among workers[1]. Occupational epidemiology, now widely applied in the region, is widening its scope from a conventional single toxicological factor analysis towards the assessment of the combined effects of different work-related agents. Occupational stress, work organization, social and family factors, cross-cultural differences as well as the well known chemical or physical agents have increasingly been recognized as important risks affecting the health conditions of various workers in the region.