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Occupational health experts identify challenges of epidemiological studies related to nanomaterials

Published: Friday 27 February 2009

An update from the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH Update) announced the online publication of a paper entitled ‘Issues in the Development of Epidemiologic Studies of Workers Exposed to Engineered Nanoparticles’, published in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (51(3):323-335, March 2009).

Written by NIOSH scientists and a colleague from Emory University, the paper identifies issues that researchers will need to consider in designing sound epidemiological studies of workers who may be exposed to engineered nanoparticles in the manufacturing and commercial use of nanomaterials.
According to the NIOSH Update, the authors note that ‘a dozen factors would influence the design of an epidemiological study [on the impact of engineered nanoparticles]. Among those factors, it will be particularly important to account for:
  • Heterogeneity (the chemical and physical diversity of engineered nanoparticles)
  • Temporal factors (the challenge that nanotechnology, generally, has not been in use for the
    length of time it may take for some diseases to become apparent)
  • Disease endpoints (determining what diseases or symptoms to look for on the basis of
    limited research evidence)
  • Exposure characterization (determining what to measure and how to measure it)
  • Study population (finding a group of workers for a study who have been exposed to the
    same type of engineered nanoparticle at levels high enough and for a long enough time
    to provide scientifically reliable and comparable results).

According to the paper, issues to be considered also should include 'the challenge of confounding factors; analytical techniques; selection of intermediate biomarkers that may predict disease; informed consent, privacy, and confidentiality for workers who are recruited for studies; development of exposure registries; linkage of study findings with wider medical surveillance of exposed worker populations; and utilization of epidemiological data in quantitative risk assessments.’

Follow these links to read the full NIOSH Update, or to download the full paper from the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine website (subscribers only).

 

Related Links:
US NIOSH publishes Interim Guidance for Medical Screening
The US the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced the availability of a new publication (NIOSH Publication No. 2009-116): Current Intelligence Bulletin 60: Interim Guidance for Medical Screening and Hazard Surveillance for Workers Potentially Exposed to Engineered Nanoparticles. (18th February 2009)