A job‐exposure matrix for research and surveillance of occupational health and safety in Spanish workers: MatEmESp

Abstract

MatEmESp can be a useful tool for research and surveillance, and can help set priorities for occupational illness and injury prevention in Spain.

Maternal occupation during pregnancy, birth weight, and length of gestation: combined analysis of 13 European birth cohorts

“…Secondly, considering that an employee can be exposed to a wide range of environmental exposures at the workplace, we defined groups of occupations representing the main sectors of employment among women where potential reproductive hazards are considered to be present (10,11,19). Occupational exposures present in these sectors include a variety of chemical, biological and physical factors, together with factors related to work organization.…”

Occupational exposures and mammographic density in Spanish women

“…Exposure to chemical, physical and microbiological agents was assessed by linking occupations (CNO-94) to a job-exposure matrix (MatEmEsp) 16. This matrix has been specifically developed for Spanish workers, covering the period 1996–2005.…”

“…In two previous studies our group sought to identify occupations with high MD in Spanish female workers,13 as well as to evaluate the possible association between MD and self-reported history of night shift work,14 an association that had been previously explored 15. The availability of a job-exposure matrix, purpose-made for the Spanish working population, that allows evaluation of occupational exposure to chemical, physical and microbiological agents16 makes it possible to explore the effect of such substances in the workplace. The aim of this study is thus to investigate the possible association between MD and current occupational exposure to chemical, physical and microbiological compounds among a group of Spanish women with paid employment attending a breast cancer screening programme.…”

New Opportunities in Exposure Assessment of Occupational Epidemiology: Use of Measurements to Aid Exposure Reconstruction in Population-Based Studies

“…Sources have included measurements from regulatory health and safety inspections [3, 4•,5–7], industrial hygienic surveys undertaken by research, university, medical, and government groups [8–12, 13••,14–16], industry databases and reports [10, 11, 14, 17•], published literature [10, 12, 13••, 18, 19], and unpublished technical reports [12, 13••]. Many of these sources have been compiled into large national and international exposure databases [8, 11, 12, 14, 20, 21].…”

“…In many JEMs, the measurements were used qualitatively or quantitatively as a starting point for the JEM’s exposure intensity metric (e.g., [8, 14–16, 17•, 22]). Usually agent-, occupation-, and time period-specific arithmetic means were calculated and then reviewed by teams of experts.…”