Estimation of Source-Specific Occupational Benzene Exposure in a Population-Based Case-Control Study of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Objectives: Occupational exposures in population-based case-control studies are increasingly being assessed using decision rules that link participants' responses to occupational questionnaires to exposure estimates. We used a hierarchical process that incorporated decision rules and job-by-job expert review to assign occupational benzene exposure estimates in a US population-based case-control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Methods: We conducted a literature review to identify scenarios in which occupational benzene exposure has occurred, which we grouped into 12 categories of benzene exposure sources.

Validity of retrospective occupational exposure estimates of lead and manganese in a case-control study.

Objectives: The validity of surrogate measures of retrospective occupational exposure in population-based epidemiological studies has rarely been evaluated. Using toenail samples as bioindicators of exposure, we assessed whether work tasks and expert assessments of occupational metal exposure obtained from personal interviews were associated with lead and manganese concentrations.

Methods: We selected 609 controls from a case-control study of bladder cancer in New England who had held a job for ≥1 year 8-24 months prior to toenail collection.

Case-control investigation of occupational lead exposure and kidney cancer.

Objectives: Lead is a suspected carcinogen that has been inconsistently associated with kidney cancer. To clarify this relationship, we conducted an analysis of occupational lead exposure within a population-based study of kidney cancer using detailed exposure assessment methods.

Methods: Study participants (1217 cases and 1235 controls), enrolled between 2002 and 2007, provided information on their occupational histories and, for selected lead-related occupations, answered questions regarding workplace tasks, and use of protective equipment.

Decision rule approach applied to estimate occupational lead exposure in a case-control study of kidney cancer.

Background: We developed a systematic, data-driven approach to estimate metrics of occupational exposure to lead to aid in epidemiologic analyses in a case-control study of kidney cancer.

Methods: Probability of exposure to ten lead sources was assigned using decision rules developed from an extensive literature review and expert judgement. For jobs with >50% probability of exposure, we assigned source-specific frequency based on subjects' self-reported task frequencies or means of subjects' job-groups and source-specific intensity estimates of blood lead (μg/dL).

New Opportunities in Exposure Assessment of Occupational Epidemiology: Use of Measurements to Aid Exposure Reconstruction in Population-Based Studies.

Purpose Of Review: Exposure assessment efforts in population-based studies are increasingly incorporating measurements. The published literature was reviewed to identify the measurement sources and the approaches used to incorporate measurements into these efforts.

Recent Findings: The variety of occupations and industries in these studies made collecting participant-specific measurements impractical.

Airborne asbestos exposures associated with gasket and packing replacement: a simulation study and meta-analysis.

Exposures to airborne asbestos during the removal and installation of internal gaskets and packing associated with a valve overhaul were characterized and compared to published data according to different variables (e.g., product, equipment, task, tool, setting, duration).