Using Decision Rules to Assess Occupational Exposure in Population-Based Studies

Sauvé, Jean-François; Friesen, Melissa C.

doi:10.1007/s40572-019-00240-w

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…For acrylate exposure in OccIDEAS, participants were asked if they handled bone cement, used cyanoacrylate super glues, or whether they manufactured crowns, false teeth or bridges and if they used an enclosed system to do so. Rule-based algorithms principally aim to increase inter-individual contrasts in exposures using task-based determinants of exposures [ 5 ]. Task-specific questions are not only less prone to recall bias as participants are able to report work tasks more accurately [ 1 ], but, as shown in this study, they also assist in identifying within-job differences in exposure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparison of agreement in asthmagen exposure assessments between rule-based automatic algorithms and a job exposure matrix in healthcare workers in Australia and Bhutan

et al. 2022

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Background: Assessment of occupational exposures is an integral component of population-based studies investigating the epidemiology of occupational diseases. However, all the available methods for exposure assessment have been developed, tested and used in high-income countries. Except for a few studies examining pesticide exposures, there is limited research on whether these methods are appropriate for assessing exposure in LMICs. The aim of this study is to compare a task-specific algorithm-based method (OccIDEAS) to a job-specific matrix method (OAsJEM) in the assessment of asthmagen exposures among healthcare workers in a high-income country and a low- and middle- income country (LMIC) to determine an appropriate assessment method for use in LMICs for future research. Methods: Data were obtained from a national cross-sectional survey of occupational asthmagens exposure in Australia and a cross-sectional survey of occupational chemical exposure among Bhutanese healthcare workers. Exposure was assessed using OccIDEAS and the OAsJEM. Prevalence of exposure to asthmagens and inter-rater agreement were calculated. Results: In Australia, the prevalence was higher for a majority of agents when assessed by OccIDEAS than by the OAsJEM (13 versus 3). OccIDEAS identified exposures to a greater number of agents (16 versus 7). The agreement as indicated by κ (Cohen’s Kappa coefficient) for six of the seven agents assessed was poor to fair (0.02 to 0.37). In Bhutan, the prevalence of exposure assessed by OccIDEAS was higher for four of the seven agents and κ was poor for all the four agents assessed (-0.06 to 0.13). The OAsJEM overestimated exposures to high-level disinfectants by assigning exposures to all participants from 10 (Bhutan) and 12 (Australia) ISCO-88 codes; whereas OccIDEAS assigned exposures to varying proportions of participants from these ISCO-codes. Conclusion: There was poor to fair agreement in the assessment of asthmagen exposure in healthcare workers between the two methods. The OAsJEM overestimated the prevalence of certain exposures. As compared to the OAsJEM, OccIDEAS appeared to be more appropriate for evaluating cross-country exposures to asthmagens in healthcare workers due to its inherent quality of assessing task-based determinants and its versatility in being adaptable for use in different countries with different exposure circumstances.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, newer methods have been developed for exposure assessment such as the use of automated algorithms derived from experts and JEMs where exposure estimates are derived from historical exposure measurements [ 3 ]. There is some evidence indicating that these methods are as reliable as the traditional methods [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of agreement in asthmagen exposure assessments between rule-based automatic algorithms and a job exposure matrix in healthcare workers in Australia and Bhutan

et al. 2022

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“…It also enables a faster retrospective expert assessment by using their expertise only on discordant assessments between JEM and SQ. The a priori defined decision rules facilitated the job-by-job examination by providing initial estimates of exposure that can be modulated by the experts according to the subject-reported task information (45).…”

Section: Exposure Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The number of exposed cases was small for some solvents, resulting in large CI and preventing analysis by histologic subtype or level of exposure to PCE or MC. Finally, the quality of the exposure assessment in the JEM+SQ+EA method depends on the ability of subjects to provide valid information about their occupations, which can be influenced by the duration of employment and recall period, length of the interview etc (45). With self-reported information, we cannot exclude the possibility that bias due to differential recall of occupational tasks and their characteristics by cases and controls may have been introduced into the JEM+SQ+EA method.…”

Section: Exposure Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational exposure to organic solvents and the risk of developing testicular germ cell tumors (TESTIS study): Effect of combined exposure assessment on risk estimation

Guth,

Pilorget,

Lefevre

et al. 2024

Scand J Work Environ Health

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OBJECTIVES: Etiological factors of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) remain largely unknown, but a causal role of occupational exposures to solvents has been suggested. Previous studies analyzing these exposures reported discordant results, potentially related to exposure assessment methods. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of occupational exposure to solvents on the risk of developing TGCT among young men. METHODS: This study examined occupational exposures to solvents and TGCT risk based on the lifetime work histories of 454 cases and 670 controls, aged 18–45 years, of the French national TESTIS case–control study. Solvent exposure was estimated using: (i) exposure assignment by job-exposure matrix (JEM) and (ii) JEM combined with self-reported exposure data from specific questionnaires (SQ) and expert assessment (EA). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression models. RESULTS: Both approaches (JEM and JEM+SQ+EA) showed a consistent association between TGCT and trichloroethylene exposure (exposed versus not exposed; JEM=OR 1.80 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12–2.90] and JEM+SQ+EA= OR 2.59 (95% CI 1.42–4.72). Both approaches also observed positive associations with ketone esters and fuels & petroleum-based solvents. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that some organic solvents might be involved in the pathogenesis of TGCT among occupationally exposed men. The combined use of JEM+SQ+EA seemed to limit misclassification by considering individual exposure variability and is, therefore, an appealing approach to assess occupational exposures in epidemiological studies.

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Characterization of inhalable endotoxin, glucan, and dust exposures in Iowa farmers

Sauvé

Locke

Josse

et al. 2020

International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health

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Using Decision Rules to Assess Occupational Exposure in Population-Based Studies

Cited by 8 publications

References 69 publications

Comparison of agreement in asthmagen exposure assessments between rule-based automatic algorithms and a job exposure matrix in healthcare workers in Australia and Bhutan

Comparison of agreement in asthmagen exposure assessments between rule-based automatic algorithms and a job exposure matrix in healthcare workers in Australia and Bhutan

Occupational exposure to organic solvents and the risk of developing testicular germ cell tumors (TESTIS study): Effect of combined exposure assessment on risk estimation

Characterization of inhalable endotoxin, glucan, and dust exposures in Iowa farmers

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