Hospital records: An underutilized source of information regarding occupational diseases and exposures

Population-based asbestosis surveillance in British Columbia

“…However, mortality data may not accurately reflect the incidence of the disease and workers’ compensation records may underestimate the true burden of the disease since a large proportion of affected workers may not seek occupational compensation 12 13 14. Some studies have suggested that hospitalisation data sources are important in asbestosis and other pneumoconioses surveillance 15 16 17 18 19. However, Rosenman and colleagues showed that hospitalisation records cannot identify all asbestosis cases15 because some patients in the early stages of the disease are less likely to be hospitalised and included in this data source.…”