About EuroJEM
EuroJEM is a tool developed within the framework of the EPHOR project, funded by the EU: Horizon 2020 program.
Its primary objective is to provide comprehensive and state-of the-art exposure assessment information for population studies, both within and outside the EPHOR project. It is derived from an extensive list of both existing and newly developed Job Exposure Matrices (JEMs) – covering a wide range of exposure factors. These factors include chemical, physical, psychosocial and lifestyle exposures.
A variety of methodologies have been employed in the development of these Job-Exposure Matrices (JEMs), each targeting specific populations, regions or time periods. Within the EuroJEM individual JEMs are being harmonized in terms of both coding systems and exposure assignments across various agents. The reference point for this alignment is the European version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) coding system, 1988 edition (ISCO-88(COM)).
A wide range of 10 different exposures of main interest for work-related mortality and morbidity have been harmonized to feed into a first version of a comprehensive European Job-Exposure Matrix (EuroJEM_1.0), coded into ISCO-88 (COM). The exposures are:
- Chemicals and particles, 1970-2020 (10-year intervals), exposure prevalence (3 categories), estimated average exposure level among the exposed, for: Respirable crystalline silica, Nickel, Wood dust, Diesel engine exhaust.
- Physical exposures, 1970-2020 (5-year intervals): Occupational noise exposure (continuous scale).
- Psychosocial exposure, 1990-2015 (no subdivision), exposure prevalence, (4 categories): Quantitative job demands, Decision authority.
- Physical workload, 1997-2019 (no subdivision), exposure prevalence (5 categories): Faster breathing due to heavy physical workload, working in forward bent posture, Heavy lifting, working in kneeling or squatting, Working with hands above shoulder level.
The harmonized JEMs weigh heavily on data from the Nordic countries and Western Europe with a main gap for Eastern Europe calling for caution in applying them to this region. New JEMs are developed within the EPHOR project to estimate exposure for precarious employment and UV-light. Ongoing efforts include validation of the harmonized JEMs, as well as arrangements to ensure that EuroJEM will remain accessible and updated beyond EPHOR.
EuroJEM is maintained and hosted by Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.
Contact us here: eurojem@ki.se