BACKGROUND The reliability of binary exposure classification methods is routinely reported in occupational health literature because it is viewed as an important component of evaluating the trustworthiness of the exposure assessment by experts. The Kappa statistics (κ) are typically employed to assess how well raters or classification systems agree in a variety of contexts, such as identifying ...

Achemical incident is the unexpected release of industrial material that is (potentially) hazardous either to humans, other animals or the environment. Common synonyms include the term “accident” but this presupposes an anticipated failure of control; “incidents” include also unanticipated disasters resulting from mechanical or organisational failures, and occasionally even sabotage. The essenc...

OBJECTIVE The paper reviews community based epidemiological studies of injuries at school. It discusses their main findings in the light of a frame of analysis that emphasizes multidimensionality of causes, and in a Swedish context, where school injuries are legally regarded as occupational injuries. METHODS A frame of analysis, inspired by research in the arena of occupational accident, was ...

Information from toxicological and epidemiological studies of the cancer and noncancer health risks from inhaled diesel engine exhaust (DE) and gasoline engine exhaust (GE) was reviewed. The toxicological database is more extensive for DE than for GE. Animal studies have shown that heavy, chronic exposures to both DE and GE can cause lung pathology and associated physiological effects. Inhaled ...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic fibrotic lung disease of unknown cause that occurs in adults and has a poor prognosis. Its epidemiology has been difficult to study because of its rarity and evolution in diagnostic and coding practices. Though uncommon, it is likely underappreciated both in terms of its occurrence (ie, incidence, prevalence) and public health impact (ie, health care c...

Spuriously precise results from meta-analysis. Is better statistical correction or a more critical methodological assessment warranted? Ludovic G.P.M. van Amelsvoort*, Wolfgang Viechtbauer, Mark G. Spigt Department of Epidemiology, Occupational Health Epidemiology unit, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands D...

The paper describes the contribution made to the understanding of the epidemiology of osteoarthritis by the Arthritis Research Campaign Epidemiology Unit. Kellgren and Lawrence defined the condition radiographically and produced the widely used Atlas of Standard Radiographs of Arthritis. They documented the age- and sex-specific prevalence of osteoarthritis. Based on studies in occupational gro...