• European Society for Environmental and Occupational Medicine

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Welcome to EOM

The European Society for Environmental and Occupational Medicine (EOM), was founded in 2011 by a group of European scientists, who recognized a need for cooperative European efforts supporting the research in the areas of environmental and occupational health.
EOM aims to strengthen independent interdisciplinary basic biomedical research on emerging new environmental work-related health problems.
EOM is registered charity (since 2012) with wide range contacts to university departments, governmental agencies and professional bodies.
EOM responds with the society view to consultive documents, topics of interest and guidelines concerning the specialty of the society.

Latest News from EOM

Most Read Articles from EOM

Most recent articles from the Collegium Ramazzini:

http://www.collegiumramazzini.org/publications.asp

Most recent INEP activities

https://epidemiologyinpolicy.org/

Census/Asbestos/E-Cigarettes/Ethics/Ukraine/Covid-19/Air pollution

Most recent articles: Journal of Scientific Practice and Integrity (JoSPI)

Most Recent Articles: Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology

05 May 2024

An expanding number of human health problems have been linked to occupational or environmental exposures.

The global changes in the production, trade, logistic, and economic fields are combined with new health hazards for thousends of European workers for consumers and the environment.

Such new hazards may need new methods to identify them, new basic information on possible new toxic, carcinogenic and allergic effects.

 

Aim:

Increase the European cooperation and maintain interdisciplinary research network between independent scientists, physicians and practitioners.

Notification of occupational disease and the risk of work disability: a two-year follow-up study

Kolstad HA, Christensen MV, Jensen LD, Schlünssen V, Thulstrup AM, Bonde JP

Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health [2012], doi:10.5271/sjweh.3336

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze if notification of an occupational disease increases the risk of work disability.

METHODS: We included 2304 patients examined at the Department of Occupational Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, 1998-2005 and followed them for two years. A total of 564 patients were notified of an occupational disease when they were examined at baseline and 1740 patients were not. We obtained weekly information on sick payment, unemployment payment, disability pension, rehabilitation benefit, and other social benefits during the two years of follow-up from a national register. Using Cox regression models, we analyzed notification and adjusted hazard ratios (HR (adj)) of work disability (defined as >12 weeks of social benefits during the first or second year of follow-up).

RESULTS: Prior to notification, notified patients had higher levels of clinical, occupational, and social characteristics that predict poorer vocational prognosis. Analyses that adjusted for these differences showed an increased risk of work disability following notification for patients who were working when notified at baseline (HR (adj)1.46, 95% CI 1.17-1.82). No effect was seen for patients who were not working.

CONCLUSIONS: Notification of an occupational disease may, as an unintended side effect, increase the risk of work disability. A cautious interpretation is warranted because data analyses may not fully have accounted for the poorer vocational prognosis already present at baseline.

EOM Society participates in EU funded multicenter Project DiMoPEx

The WHO has ranked environmental exposures among the top risk factors for chronic disease mortality. Worldwide, about 55 million people die each year from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including cancer, diabetes, and chronic cardiovascular, neurological and lung diseases. External exposures in living and working environments alongside with individual susceptibility and lifestyle- driven factors contribute to NCD etiologies. EOM Member Prof. Dr. Lygia Therese Budnik is chairing the DiMoPEx project. Several EOM members are participating in the project: http://dimopex.eu/

Position statements of the EOM Society

The diagnosis of extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) or hypersensitivity pneumonitis is difficult. Delays of years or even decades till the diagnosis is made are not uncommon; frequent misdiagnoses include allergic asthma, COPD, recurrent flue and other infections. The working group ALLERGIC DISORDERS from the EOMSociety recommends current diagnostics schema:

http://www.occup-med.com/content/10/1/15/abstract

Successful management of allergic diseases necessitates identifying their specific causes (i.e. identify the causative agent(s) and the route of contact to allergen: airborne, or skin contact) to avoid further exposure. Identification of sensitization by a sensitive and validated measurement of specific-IgE is an important step in the diagnosis. 
See: Practical guideline “Immunological methods for diagnosis and monitoring of exposure-related type I allergic disorders caused by industrial sensitizing agents, IMExAllergy,”: 
 
 
See also: the systematic review "Performance of specific immunoglobulin E tests for diagnosing occupational asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis": 
 

EOM is member of INEP

INEP, International Network for Epidemiology in Policy, is a network promoting and protecting public health by serving as an ethical and effective counterweight to the misuse of epidemiology and other science. It volunteers its expertise to protect the public and to promote health and well-being through ethical, independent, and transparent science.

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