Experts' assessment of probability and level of pesticide exposure in agricultural workers

The occupational history of the parents of 261 infants with congenital malf ormations and 261 matched controls was collected. During the relevant time period before the birth of their child, 183 parents were involved in agricu ltural activities, 49% of them having directly applied pesticides, Two expe rts assessed the probability and the level of exposure to each quoted pesti cide (582 observations) by using 4-point scales. Interrater agreement was e stimated. Kappa-weighted values for probability and level of exposure were, respectively, kappa = 0.36 and kappa = 0.39. In the analysis of some categ ories of exposure (non-applicators, herbicides) very low interrater agreeme nt was observed, ln epidemiological studies, detailed assessment of pestici de exposure (product-byproduct) is needed to investigate the effects of pes ticides on health. But the application of experts' judgment in this area ne eds more research in assessing the validity of this approach.