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. 2014 Aug;57(8):915-27.
doi: 10.1002/ajim.22328.

Developing estimates of frequency and intensity of exposure to three types of metalworking fluids in a population-based case-control study of bladder cancer

Melissa C Friesen  1 , Dong-Uk Park, Joanne S Colt, Dalsu Baris, Molly Schwenn, Margaret R Karagas, Karla R Armenti, Alison Johnson, Debra T Silverman, Patricia A Stewart
Affiliations

Developing estimates of frequency and intensity of exposure to three types of metalworking fluids in a population-based case-control study of bladder cancer

Melissa C Friesen et al. Am J Ind Med. 2014 Aug.

Abstract

Background: A systematic, transparent, and data-driven approach was developed to estimate frequency and intensity of exposure to straight, soluble, and synthetic/semi-synthetic metalworking fluids (MWFs) within a case-control study of bladder cancer in New England.

Methods: We assessed frequency using individual-level information from job-specific questionnaires wherever possible, then derived and applied job group-level patterns to likely exposed jobs with less information. Intensity estimates were calculated using a statistical model developed from measurements and determinants extracted from the published literature.

Results: For jobs with probabilities of exposure≥0.5, median frequencies were 8-10 hr/week, depending on MWF type. Median intensities for these jobs were 2.5, 2.1, and 1.0 mg/m3 for soluble, straight, and synthetic/semi-synthetic MWFs, respectively.

Conclusions: Compared to case-by-case assessment, these data-driven decision rules are transparent and reproducible and may result in less biased estimates. These rules can also aid future exposure assessments of MWFs in population-based studies.

Keywords: bladder cancer; case-control study; exposure prediction model; metalworking fluids; retrospective exposure assessment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hierarchical rules for assigning frequency of MWF exposure for jobs with probability >0, where MWF denotes soluble, straight, and synthetic MWF, SUBJ denotes subject-level information, JG denotes job group-level information, and MWFJobs denotes information from all jobs receiving a MWF module. Definition and source of variables listed in Table I.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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