Creation and testing of the Domiscore-a tool to characterize the impact of housing on health and well-being.

Background: Despite evidence of the major impact housing carries on health, many individuals still live in unhealthy dwellings. In France, the Domiscore has been proposed as a tool to assess the quality of dwellings with regard to their health impact, to allow for a better detection of unsafe housing and to improve dwellings. The aim of this paper is to present the method used to construct the Domiscore and test its relevance and usability.

[Environment hygiene in doctor’s office].

Environment hygiene in doctor's office. This paper describes the modes of arrangement for a doctor's office, with characteristics and cleaning methods of covering products, furniture, heating and ventilation systems, and water supply, to obtain and guarantee an environmental quality and to reduce the risks of microbial transmission.

Environmental home inspection services in Western Europe.

This review deals with environmental home inspection services in Western Europe provided for patients at the request of attending physicians to improve patient management. Such requests are usually motivated by respiratory or general symptoms which occur or worsen at home. The visit includes a standardised questionnaire as well as environmental sampling such as mite-allergen measurement, mould identification and volatile organic compound (VOC) measurements.

Cancer mortality among municipal pest-control workers.

Objectives: This epidemiological study was carried out in order to investigate the hypothesis of a relationship between cancer occurrence and occupational exposure in a population of municipal pest-control workers exposed to a wide range of pesticides and other chemicals.

Methods: The study was designed as a mortality historical cohort study. The cohort comprised all subjects ever employed in a municipal pest-control service between 1979 and 1994.

Short-term effects of low-level air pollution on respiratory health of adults suffering from moderate to severe asthma.

Only a few studies have been carried out on the health effects of air pollution on patients suffering from severe asthma. We wanted to test the sensitivity of these patients to Paris air pollution. During 13 months, 60 severe asthmatics (62- female; mean age 55 years) were monitored by their physician, who filled in a follow-up form at each consultation and reported any asthma attacks.