From conjecture and refutation to the documentation of occupational diseases in Taiwan

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The documentation of occupational diseases in a developing country like Taiwan is a challenge to an occupational physician. For lack of a system including material safety data sheet (MSDS), workers are usually not aware of what chemicals they are exposed to. Since many occupational diseases have long latencies and do not show any specific symptoms and signs, recognition and identification of the occupational origin are often very difficult. Using databases which provide a relatively complete list of industrial chemicals and a set of specific signs and/or symptoms, combined with the epidemiologic approach of conjectures and refutations—i.e., considering and ruling out all possible alternative explanations—we have documented eight kinds of occupational diseases and an outbreak of botulism. We recommend that a similar approach be applied to any other country with a similar situation, and that a system involving an identification sheet (e.g., MSDS) for each chemical be advocated and implemented in such countries as one means to enable prompt recognition and prevention of occupational diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)557-565
Number of pages9
JournalAmerican Journal of Industrial Medicine
Volume20
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1991

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'From conjecture and refutation to the documentation of occupational diseases in Taiwan'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this