Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Symptoms attributed to the environment--a systematic, interdisciplinary assessment.

Anke Huss1, Joachim Küchenhoff, Andreas Bircher

  • 1Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, Basel.

International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
|August 28, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Determinants of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted by smartphones in French cellular telephony networks.

Environmental research·2026
Same author

EXPANSE Urban Labs: a panel study to deepen understanding of healthy urban living environments.

Environmental research·2026
Same author

National registers of authorized Plant Protection Products in Europe-the data treasury needed for the sustainable use of pesticides.

Integrated environmental assessment and management·2026
Same author

Psychosocial factors and the risk of cancer: An individual-participant data meta-analysis.

Cancer·2026
Same author

Incidence and spatial variation of Parkinson's disease in the Netherlands (2017-2022): a population-based study.

The Lancet regional health. Europe·2026
Same author

Long-term residential magnetic field exposure and neurodegenerative disease mortality: An 18-year nationwide cohort study in Switzerland.

Environment international·2026

Environmental symptoms require an interdisciplinary approach. Medical, psychiatric, and environmental expertise are crucial for diagnosing and advising individuals with health complaints potentially linked to environmental exposures.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Medicine
  • Psychiatry
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Assessing environmental health symptoms requires a comprehensive approach.
  • Understanding the link between environmental exposures and health impairments is complex.
  • Individual theories of causation need scientific evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate symptoms attributed to environmental factors from an interdisciplinary viewpoint.
  • To assess the plausibility of participants' proposed causal links between environmental exposure and health issues.
  • To determine the necessity of integrated medical, psychiatric, and environmental expertise.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted an environmental medicine project assessing participants' medical, psychiatric, and environmental backgrounds.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Evaluated the explanatory value of findings for each reported symptom.
  • Utilized an interdisciplinary team to analyze symptom attribution.

    • Main Results:

    • Approximately 50% of participants had symptoms plausibly explained by concurrent medical, psychological, or environmental factors.
    • The research team considered the link between environmental exposure and health complaints 'plausible' in 40% of cases.
    • The presence of psychiatric disorders did not preclude the possibility of environmentally caused symptoms.

    Conclusions:

    • An interdisciplinary approach integrating medical, psychiatric, and environmental expertise is essential for accurate diagnosis.
    • Effective management of environmentally related symptoms necessitates a holistic, team-based evaluation.
    • This study highlights the importance of considering multiple domains when addressing complex health complaints.