The occupational environment has been a most fruitful one for investigating the etiology of human cancer. Many recognized human carcinogens are occupational carcinogens. There is a large volume of epidemiologic and experimental data concerning cancer risks in different work environments. It is important to synthesize this information for both scientific and public health purposes. Various organizations and individuals have published lists of occupational carcinogens. However, such lists have been limited by unclear criteria for which recognized carcinogens should be considered occupational carcinogens, and by inconsistent and incomplete information on the occupations and industries in which the carcinogenic substances may be found and on their target sites of cancer. Based largely on the evaluations published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and augmented with additional information, the present article represents an attempt to summarize, in tabular form, current knowledge on occupational carcinogens, the occupations and industries in which they are found, and their target organs. We have considered 28 agents as definite occupational carcinogens, 27 agents as probable occupational carcinogens, and 113 agents as possible occupational carcinogens. These tables should be useful for regulatory or preventive purposes and for scientific purposes in research priority setting and in understanding carcinogenesis.

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) may be caused by a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental insults. However, there are few solid leads concerning human diabetogenic environmental agents. A case-control study was carried out to investigate the possible relationships between IDDM and various biological, chemical, and psychological factors. All 161 cases of IDDM among children aged 0-17 yr occurring in Montreal from 1983 to 1986 were included. The parent of each newly diagnosed diabetic subject was asked to provide the names of two of the child's friends or neighbors who would be age and sex matched to serve as controls. For those unable to do so, matched controls were selected from a hospital emergency room. Parents of cases and controls were interviewed concerning many factors. There was little or no difference between cases and controls with regard to parental smoking habits, exposure to pets, and consumption of meat products high in nitrosamines. In univariate analyses, there was some indication of elevated risk for children who had not been breast-fed, who attended day care or nursery before age 5 yr, who lived in a crowded household at age 3 yr, or who had a history of asthma or eczema, although in multivariate analyses the only variables that had any effect were crowding and day-care attendance. In univariate and multivariate analyses, there was high risk of IDDM among children who had experienced selected stressful life events during the 12 mo preceding onset of IDDM or who had exhibited symptoms of social or psychological dysfunction during that time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Mail and telephone survey methods, with or without follow-up by other methods, are cost-effective alternatives to the conventional home interview approach. However, it has long been thought that they are especially susceptible to nonresponse bias. The study addressed this issue in the context of parallel mail and telephone health surveys carried out in Montreal. The mail strategy among 1,555 adults achieved 68.5% response and follow-up by telephone and home interview increased response to 80.9%. Respondents were adequately representative of the entire sample with respect to socioeconomic status, number of adults in household, and ethnic distribution. The 68.5% initial stage respondents were similar to all respondents on the above variables as well as on age, sex, education and reported health status. Odds ratios of smoking and respiratory symptoms hardly differed between initial stage and all respondents. The telephone survey among 1,595 adults achieved 72.7% response and follow-up by mail and personal interview increased response to 88.2%. Comparisons between respondents and the entire sample and between initial stage respondents and all respondents gave similar results to those found in the mail strategy, although there was some change in a symptom-smoking odds ratio from the initial stage respondents to all respondents. In both survey strategies, there was no evidence of substantial nonresponse bias and estimates of morbidity and health care would not have differed much if the fieldwork had stopped at the initial mail or telephone stage.