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Decision rule approach applied to estimate occupational lead exposure in a case‐control study of kidney cancer
Author(s) -
Callahan Catherine L.,
Locke Sarah J.,
Dopart Pamela J.,
Stewart Patricia A.,
Schwartz Kendra,
Ruterbusch Julie J.,
Graubard Barry I.,
Rothman Nathaniel,
Hofmann Jonathan N.,
Purdue Mark P.,
Friesen Melissa C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22912
Subject(s) - medicine , lead (geology) , lead exposure , occupational exposure , population , exposure assessment , occupational medicine , environmental health , occupational cancer , lead poisoning , statistics , toxicology , cats , mathematics , geomorphology , psychiatry , biology , geology
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). Results In our study, 18.7% of employed person‐years were associated with high (≥80%) probability of exposure to any lead source. The most common medium (>50%) or high probability source of lead exposure was leaded gasoline (2.5% and 11.5% of employed person‐years, respectively). The median blood lead attributed to occupational exposure was 3.1 μg/dL. Conclusions These rules can aid in future studies after population‐specific adaption for geographic differences and different exposure scenarios.