Accuracy of work history obtained from a spouse

In an evaluation of the usefulness of collecting work exposure information from wives of workers, 26 husband-wife pairs were interviewed separately about exposure of the husband to organic solvents. There was 58% concordance between the husbands and wives for answers to a simple question regarding solvent exposure. Amplification of these answers through the use of a computerized occupation-exposure linkage system yielded 81% concordance. When the analysis was restricted to those reporting exposure to solvents for more than five years, an 88% concordance was achieved with the linkage system. It was concluded that wives can accurately recall their husbands\u27 work histories with respect to jobs having solvent exposure. The exposure specificity of such histories is significantly enhanced by the use of an occupation-exposure linkage system

Use of a Robotic Sampler (PIPER) for Evaluation of Particulate Matter Exposure and Eczema in Preschoolers

While the association of eczema with asthma is well recognized, little research has focused on the potential role of inhalable exposures and eczema. While indoor air quality is important in the development of respiratory disease as children in the U.S. spend the majority of their time indoors, relatively little research has focused on correlated non-respiratory conditions. This study examined the relationship between particulate matter (PM) exposures in preschool age children and major correlates of asthma, such as wheeze and eczema. Air sampling was carried out using a robotic (PIPER) child-sampling surrogate. This study enrolled 128 participants, 57 male and 71 female children. Ages ranged from 3 to 58 months with the mean age of 29.3 months. A comparison of subjects with and without eczema showed a difference in the natural log (ln) of PM collected from the PIPER air sampling (p = 0.049). PIPER’s sampling observed an association between the ln PM concentrations and eczema, but not an association with wheezing history in pre-school children. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis of the role of the microenvironment in mediating atopic dermatitis, which is one of the predictors of persistent asthma. Our findings also support the use of PIPER in its ability to model and sample the microenvironment of young children