Use of biological markers in occupational health research and practice.
Source
J Toxicol Environ Health 1993 Oct; 40(2-3):359-366
Abstract
This report discussed three efforts which could enhance the use of biomarkers in occupational and environmental health research and practice. As a first step, a biomarker needs to be shown to be valid and there are three types of validity research that coincide with the three types of biomarkers: validate the relationship between exposure and dose, validate the relationship between biological effects and disease, and validate markers of susceptibility. The increased utilization of biomarkers in etiologic and prevention research and the development of programs to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and train molecular epidemiologists were discussed. The author stresses that in all efforts to validate the use of biological markers in occupational and environmental health research there is a need to consider the issues involved in the interpretation and communication of results of marker tests. There are ethical and social implications connected to the use of markers. Study protocols need to address these issues prior to the performance of validation, etiologic, or intervention research.
Keywords
NIOSH-Author; Biological-monitoring; Occupational-exposure; Environmental-exposure; Environmental-health-monitoring; Risk-analysis; Epidemiology
Document Type
Journal Article
Source Name
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health
