Agents in organic dust: Criteria for a causal relationship
- 1 January 1994
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in American Journal of Industrial Medicine
- Vol. 25 (1) , 33-39
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.4700250109
Abstract
Identification of agents of disease causation in organic dust is complicated by the fact that multiple agents may be involved, and these agents may act in a synergistic or additive fashion and cause a number of conditions resulting from chronic toxic or inflammatory effects. A new systematic approach to evaluating available data for evidence of disease-causing agents in organic dust is proposed. It combines, in a matrix fashion, principles of Koch's postulates, River's postulates, principles of epidemiologic determinants, and weight of evidence theory. By applying these principles in a systematic fashion, the strength of the scientific evidence for a specific agent can objectively be evaluated.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Unifying concepts underlying the effects of organic dust exposuresAmerican Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1990
- Introduction: Organic dusts and diseaseAmerican Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1990
- Report on diseasesAmerican Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1986
- Hazardous agents in agricultural dusts and methods of evaluationAmerican Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1986