| Health And Environment Information Systems for Exposure and Disease Mapping, and Risk Assessment Lars Jarup Small Area Health Statistics Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom Abstract
A large number of chemicals are used on a regular basis in modern society. Thousands of new chemicals are added each year, many of which may have toxic properties constituting potential health hazards. Rapid assessment of the risk associated with the use of these chemicals is therefore essential to protect people from exposure to potentially harmful substances. Exposures to chemicals (and physical agents) are typically unevenly distributed geographically as well as temporally. Disease occurrence also shows geographically varying patterns. Geographic information systems (GIS) may be used to produce maps of exposure and/or disease to reveal spatial patterns. Exposure mapping using advanced GIS modeling may enhance exposure assessment in environmental epidemiology studies. Disease maps can be valuable tools in risk assessment to explore changes in disease patterns potentially associated with changes in environmental exposures. Spatial variations in risk and trends related to distance from pollution sources may be studied using software tools such as the Rapid Inquiry Facility, developed by the U.K. Small Area Health Statistics Unit and enhanced in the European Health and Environment Information System project, for an initial quick evaluation of any potential health hazards associated with an environmental pollutant. Key words: disease mapping, exposure assessment, GIS, health and environment information systems, risk assessment, spatial epidemiology. Environ Health Perspect 112:995-997 (2004) . doi:10.1289/ehp.6736 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 15 April 2004]
This article is part of the mini-monograph "Health and Environment Information Systems for Exposure and Disease Mapping, and Risk Assessment." Address correspondence to L. Jarup, Small Area Health Statistics Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, 16 South Wharf Rd., London W2 1PF, United Kingdom. Telephone: 44 20 7594 3337. Fax: 44 20 7402 8837. E-mail: l.jarup@imperial.ac.uk The European Health and Environment Information System project is funded by a grant from the European Union, DG Public Health. The Small Area Health Statistics Unit is funded by a grant from the Department of Health, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Environment Agency, Health and Safety Executive, Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly Government, and Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the funders. The author declares he has no competing financial interests. Received 12 September 2003 ; accepted 15 December 2003.
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