TY - JOUR

T1 - “Good Epidemiology Practice” Guidelines for Pesticide Exposure Assessment

AU - Goodman, J.E.

AU - Prueitt, R.L.

AU - Boffetta, P.

AU - Halsall, C.

AU - Sweetman, A.

PY - 2020/7/15

Y1 - 2020/7/15

N2 - Both toxicology and epidemiology are used to inform hazard and risk assessment in regulatory settings, particularly for pesticides. While toxicology studies involve controlled, quantifiable exposures that are often administered according to standardized protocols, estimating exposure in observational epidemiology studies is challenging, and there is no established guidance for doing so. However, there are several frameworks for evaluating the quality of published epidemiology studies. We previously developed a preliminary list of methodology and reporting standards for epidemiology studies, called Good Epidemiology Practice (GEP) guidelines, based on a critical review of standardized toxicology protocols and available frameworks for evaluating epidemiology study quality. We determined that exposure characterization is one of the most critical areas for which standards are needed. Here, we propose GEP guidelines for pesticide exposure assessment based on the source of exposure data (i.e., biomonitoring and environmental samples, questionnaire/interview/expert record review, and dietary exposures based on measurements of residues in food and food consumption). It is expected that these GEP guidelines will facilitate the conduct of higher-quality epidemiology studies that can be used as a basis for more scientifically sound regulatory risk assessment and policy making. © 2020, MDPI AG. All rights reserved.

AB - Both toxicology and epidemiology are used to inform hazard and risk assessment in regulatory settings, particularly for pesticides. While toxicology studies involve controlled, quantifiable exposures that are often administered according to standardized protocols, estimating exposure in observational epidemiology studies is challenging, and there is no established guidance for doing so. However, there are several frameworks for evaluating the quality of published epidemiology studies. We previously developed a preliminary list of methodology and reporting standards for epidemiology studies, called Good Epidemiology Practice (GEP) guidelines, based on a critical review of standardized toxicology protocols and available frameworks for evaluating epidemiology study quality. We determined that exposure characterization is one of the most critical areas for which standards are needed. Here, we propose GEP guidelines for pesticide exposure assessment based on the source of exposure data (i.e., biomonitoring and environmental samples, questionnaire/interview/expert record review, and dietary exposures based on measurements of residues in food and food consumption). It is expected that these GEP guidelines will facilitate the conduct of higher-quality epidemiology studies that can be used as a basis for more scientifically sound regulatory risk assessment and policy making. © 2020, MDPI AG. All rights reserved.

KW - Epidemiology

KW - Exposure assessment

KW - Methodology

KW - Pesticides

KW - environmental chemical

KW - pesticide

KW - critical analysis

KW - epidemiology

KW - guideline

KW - hazard assessment

KW - risk assessment

KW - toxicology

KW - Article

KW - biological monitoring

KW - clinical protocol

KW - conceptual framework

KW - dietary intake

KW - environmental exposure

KW - food contamination

KW - good clinical practice

KW - health care policy

KW - interview

KW - measurement

KW - medical expert

KW - medical record review

KW - practice guideline

KW - quality control

KW - questionnaire

KW - residue analysis

KW - risk management

KW - standardization

U2 - 10.3390/ijerph17145114

DO - 10.3390/ijerph17145114

M3 - Journal article

VL - 17

SP - 1

EP - 15

JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

SN - 1660-4601

IS - 14

M1 - 5114

ER -