Self-reported exposures

TCDD exposure. CDC (1988) found that in Vietnam veterans self-reporting exposure to Agent Orange, the levels of serum 2,3,7,8-TCDD were not significantly different than levels found in a control population. 

Use of a standardized methodology for ascertaining data on exposure, outcome, or other relevant covariates is an essential feature of an epidemiological study that enhances the validity of results. All study participants should be subjected to the same method for collecting data. In-person interviews are reported to provide the most reliable self-reported exposure data, followed by telephone or mail survey techniques. Standardized forms for collecting existing data also should be used. 

Exposure Matrices Using Job or Crop to Infer Exposure 261 Self-Reported Exposures 261 Expert-Reviewed Exposures 262 Determinants of Exposure Studies 264 Exposure Databases 264 Exposure Measurements 265 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 266 REFERENCES 268... 

TTP information. As with other NYS Angler Cohort studies, limitations include the reliance on self-reported exposure data and outcome data, and the lack of information on potential confounding factors such as occupational exposures, alcohol and caffeine consumption, and current smoking status. In addition, women with unplanned pregnancies were necessarily ruled out from the analysis Buck et al. (1997) noted that this may be a potential bias inherent in the study. 

Qualitative Estimation Methods. Qualitative techniques have also been used to conduct or refine exposure reconstructions. The use of exposure determinants to classify exposures is a technique that has been performed qualitatively in some cases based on available data. Other qualitative techniques can include the use of expert or professional judgment and self-reported exposures. While self-reported exposures have been found to be convenient and helpful when no other exposure information is available, the method has been shown in at least one validation study to be inadequate for use as the sole data source in an exposure reconstruction. When self-reported exposures have been compared to professional judgments by experts, they have been found to have high specificity but low sensitivity (Fritschi et al. 1996). 

Haley R and Kurt T (1997). Self-reported exposure to neurotoxic chemical combinations in the Gulf War a cross-sectional epidemiologic survey. J Am Med Assoc, 277, 231-237. 

Spencer P, McCauley L, Lapidus J et al. (2001). Self-reported exposures and their association with unexplained illness in a population based case-control study of Gulf War veterans. J Occup Environ Med, 43, 1041-1056. 

Gryhoski J, Weinstein D, Ordway NK Toxic encephalopathy apparently related to the use of an insect repellent. N Engl J Med 264 289-291, 1961 Haley RW, Kurt TL Self-reported exposure to neurotoxic chemical combinations in the Gulf War a cross-sectional epidemiologic study. JAMA 277 231-237,1997 Haley RW, Horn J, Roland PS, et al Evaluation of neurologic function in Gulf War veterans a blinded case-control study. JAMA 277 223-230, 1997a... 

McCauley, L. A.. loos, S. K., Spencer. P. S., Lasarev, M, R., Shuell, T. and other member,s of the Portland Environmental Hazards Re.search Center (1999). Strategies to a.sscss validity of self-reported exposures during the Persian Gulf War. Environ. Res. A 81,195-205. 

A second study reported an increase in the prevalence of neurological symptoms in a large sample ( 9,000) of U.S, pesticide applicators whose exposure was insufficient to cause acute symptoms (Kamel cl ai, 2005). In this study, the prevalence of non-specific medical symptoms (i.e symptoms not related to pesticide expo.sure) was associated with use of many pesticides, particularly OP insecticides, and was related to the degree of self-reported exposure. This study suggests that long-term, subsymptomatic exposure to OPs and other pesticides may exert importani adverse effecLs on public health that escape detection in smaller studies. 

Stivitz, D. A Whelan, E. A., and Klcckncr, R. C. (1989). Self-reported exposure to pesticides and radiation related to pregnancy outcome — Rcsult.s from National Natality and Fetal Mortality Surveys. Public Health Rep. 104,473-477. 

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