International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 22, S42-S45, Copyright © 1993 by International Epidemiological Association
L Miligi, L Settimi, G Masala, P Maiozzi, S Alberghini Maltoni, A Seniori Costantini and P Vineis
A crop exposure matrix (CEM) was developed in the context of two Italian
case-control studies. The CEM relates agricultural practices to pesticide
exposures taking into account change over time and the use of chemicals by
geographical area for farming. The matrix is specific to 14 areas and to 10
major crops. The exposure axis is made up of 440 chemicals used in the last
40 years in the areas of interest. In the matrix the association between
crop growing and pesticides is expressed in terms of presence or absence of
exposure. Accuracy of the matrix was initially evaluated using 26
occupational histories collected within the two case-control studies.
Sensitivity and specificity of CEM for some compounds were estimated versus
assessment of exposure by experts. Sensitivity ranges from 83.3% to 100%,
specificity from 66.2% to 95.8% depending on the chemicals.
ARTICLES
Pesticide exposure assessment: a crop exposure matrix. The Working Group on Pesticide Exposure Assessment
Centre for Study and Prevention of Cancer (CSPO), USL 10/E, Florence, Italy.
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