Occupational practical epidemiology

Epidemiology operates within the context of public health with a strong emphasis on the prevention of disease through the reduction of factors that may increase the likelihood that an individual or group will suffer a given disease. Implicit in the practice of epidemiology is the need for different disciplines in studying the influence of occupation on human health. 

The goal of occupational toxicology is to ensure work practices that do not entail any unnecessary health risks. To do this, it is necessary to define suitable permissible levels of exposure to industrial chemicals, using the results of animal studies and epidemiological studies. These levels can be expressed by the following terms for allowable concentrations. 

Health effects studies, such as epidemiological studies, utilizing employee health records require that the records be complete, well maintained, and readily accessible, and that they contain comparable information. These requirements apply to records for all sites. Therefore, automation and centralization of the records is practically a necessity. Records from multiple CSDP sites with multiple contractors at each site may be kept in a variety of forms and according to a variety of procedures. Standardized forms and procedures for all sites would ensure that records could be used for health effects studies. Epidemiological studies on occupation-ally related diseases are most meaningful when employee exposure data are available for correlation with the health data. Complete, high-quality health and... 

Guidelines for Good Epidemiology Practices for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiologic Research... 

The results of the various epidemiological investigations performed since the 1970 s by the Unit of Industrial Toxicology and Occupational Medicine, Universite Cathohque de Louvain, Brussels, indicate that in Belgium the efforts made by industries and the health authorities to reduce occupational and environmental exposure to Cd are fully justified. As practical guidelines to control kidney effects at an early stage in occupational or environmental exposure to Cd, the urinary Cd concentration should not exceed 5 pg Cd/g creatinine in male workers and 2 pg Cd/g creatinine in the general population. 

Most of the studies on the health effect of PAHs have been carried out on laboratory animals than on humans due to the ethical implications. Therefore there exist practically no published studies on health effects in human following oral exposure to PAHs. In most cases humans are occasionally exposed to a mixture of PAHs through inhalation and dermal exposure. Other drawback associated with these data is that all the reports on human exposure to PAHs have the same subjects exposed to other potentially carcinogenic chemicals in occupational and environmental situations. Information on health effect of these mixtures is thus confined to their carcinogenic potentials derived from a number of epidemiological studies. 

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