Self-reported exposure to vapours, gas, dust or fumes (VGDF) has been widely used as an occupational exposure metric in epidemiological studies of chronic lung diseases. Our objective was to characterise the performance of VGDF for... more
Self-reported exposure to vapours, gas, dust or fumes (VGDF) has been widely used as an occupational exposure metric in epidemiological studies of chronic lung diseases. Our objective was to characterise the performance of VGDF for repeatability, systematic misclassification, and sensitivity and specificity against exposure likelihood by a job-exposure matrix (JEM). We analysed data from two interviews, 24 months apart, of adults with asthma and chronic rhinitis. Using distinct job as the unit of analysis, we tested a single response item (exposure to VGDF) against assignment using a JEM. We further analysed VGDF and the JEM among a subset of 199 subjects who reported the same job at both interviews, using logistic regression analysis to test factors associated with VGDF inconsistency and discordance with the JEM. VGDF was reported for 193 (44%) of 436 distinct jobs held by the 348 subjects studied; moderate to high exposure likelihood by JEM was assigned to 120 jobs (28%). The sens...
