About EuroJEM

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 ergonomic 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 range of 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 have been developed within the EPHOR project to estimate exposure for precarious employment, solar ultraviolet radiation, occupational heat stress and airborne infectious agents. Ongoing efforts include validation of the harmonized JEMs, as well as arrangements to ensure that EuroJEM will remain accessible and updated beyond also when the EPHOR project is finished.  

Decisions regarding the development and use of EuroJEM are made by a joint steering committee. EuroJEM is hosted by Karolinska Institutet (EuroJEM@ki.se).

Members of the EuroJEM steering committee:

Jenny Selander, Chair, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Anette Linnersjö, Data manager, CAMM, Region Stockholm, Sweden

Alexis Descatha, Inserm, France

Anjoeka Pronk, TNO, The Netherlands

Anne Helene Garde, The National Research Center for Work Environment, Denmark

Daniel Falkstedt, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Hanifa Bouziri, Inserm, France

Henrik Kolstad, University of Aarhus, Denmark

Håkan Tinnerberg, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum, National Institute of Occupational Health, Norway

Ioannis Basinas, The University of Manchester, UK

Katarina Kjellberg, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Marcel Goldberg, Inserm, France

Martie Van Tongeren, The University of Manchester, UK

Mattias Sjöström, CAMM, Region Stockholm, Sweden

Michelle Turner, Institute for Global Health, Spain

Pernilla Wiebert, CAMM, Region Stockholm, Sweden

Sanni Uuksulainen, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland

Svetlana Solovieva, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland

Susan Peters, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Theo Bodin, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Vivi Schlünssen, University of Aarhus, Denmark

Zara Ann Stokholm, University of Aarhus, Denmark