AGREEMENT BETWEEN COMPANY-RECORDED AND SELF-REPORTED ESTIMATES OF DURATION AND FREQUENCY OF OCCUPATIONAL FUMIGANT EXPOSURE

Investigators must often rely on self-reported work history informatio n collected with questionnaires. However, little is known about the ag reement between self-reported estimates of exposure and records kept b y companies. As part of a cross-sectional medical study of structural fumigation workers, self-reported work history information was collect ed on-both duration and frequency of exposure using art interviewer-ad ministered questionnaire. All company records available on these worke rs were also collected. Only 15 of 81 structural fumigation companies identified by study participants as current or past structural fumigat ion employers had records suitable for comparison. These 15 companies employed 32 of the workers who participated in the cross-sectional med ical study. The exposure information provided by the 32 workers was co mpared to information obtained from company records. By examining the agreement between these two data sources, potential limitations were i dentified in both the self-reported and company-recorded exposure data . By recognizing these limitations in the exposure data, we identified the most appropriate exposure measures to be used in subsequent data analyses. This exercise also demonstrated the difficulties in undertak ing these exposure comparisons in an industry consisting of many small , independent companies. Similar difficulties with assessing exposures may be experienced by investigators studying other service industries consisting of many small, independent companies (e.g., dry cleaning a uto repair). (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.