[A retrospective evaluation of exposure to dichloromethane by using a job-exposure matrix]

The impact of three features of a job-exposure matrix has been tested in a case-control study that evaluated the association of occupational exposure to dichloromethane and astrocytic brain cancer. These features were probability of exposure, an exposure assessment by decades, and the use of a more specific coding system of industries and occupations. The introduction of each feature had a striking effect on the estimate of relative risk. The odds ratio increased from 1.47 with none of these features, to 2.47 with high probability of exposure, to 4.15 with high probability of exposure and the specific coding system, to 6.08 with all features combined. These results indicate that job-exposure matrices efficacy in reducing the degree of exposure misclassification may be greatly improved by the introduction of these features.