Report of the exploratory meeting regarding epidemiology of occupational and environmental factors associated with autoimmunity, Bilthoven, May 10-12, 2000

An "Exploratory Meeting Epidemiology on Occupational and Environmental Factors Associated with Autoimmunity" was organized in Bilthoven the Netherlands, from May 10-12, 2000. The aim was to determine the optimal methodology for assessment of autoimmunity associated with occupational or environmental exposures in the human population, and to set up interdisciplinary and collaborative epidemiological studies to investigate the association of exposure to silica, hexachlorobenzene, ultraviolet radiation, and other agents with autoimmunity and autoimmune diseases in the human population. These agents were selected as carrying particular suspicion at present. Several recommendations were made: 1) systematic descriptive epidemiological data on autoimmunity and autoimmune disorders are required; 2) the establishment of disease-reporting registries should be encouraged; 3) the development of internationally accepted standard diagnostic criteria for all autoimmune diseases should be encouraged; 4) the social impact of these disorders should be evaluated and estimations of direct and indirect economic costs should also be made; 5) the methods of exposure assessment used in epidemiological studies should be standardized; 6) laboratory methods for measurement of biological responses should be standardized; and 7) the inclusion of indicators of autoimmunity and autoimmune diseases and of relevant environmental exposures in ongoing epidemiological studies should be encouraged