Environmental medicine in Germany--a review

In this review I describe the development of environmental medicine as a specialized field of clinical medicine in Germany. New scientific societies were founded, based on traditions of public hygiene and occupational medicine, as a reaction to environmental issues concerning human health. Environmental medicine issues were also addressed by independent "critical" physicians. The first institutions to accept patients were centers for environmental medicine affiliated with research institutions and/or with the public health service. Medical professional organizations, particularly the German General Medical Council, described the need for and formulated conditions for additional qualification for doctors in environmental medicine, including a 200-hr course. This course and a qualifying exam were passed by about 3,000 doctors, mainly from the public health service and from occupational medicine. Unfortunately, few general physicians in primary outpatient care were similarly trained. To date, no representative study has been conducted on environmental patients, but I include in this review a typical list of patients' complaints. I also summarize research activities typical for environmental medicine in Germany. Present problems concern accounting systems and, for example, diagnosis and treatment of patients with multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS). A coordinated research program on MCS has been started.