ABSTRACT
The identification and quantification of human health risk associated with exposure to chemicals is a complex process in which a variety of disciplines are involved, such as toxicology, epidemiology, clinical medicine, chemical subdisciplines (analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry), and biostatistics. All contribute, but none provide a complete picture. Among these disciplines epidemiology is becoming increasingly important. As will be pointed out in the next sections of this chapter, this is largely due to the growing scientific awareness that the relevance of results obtained in experimental animals to human health is limited. In Section 20.2, some important methodological limitations of epidemiology in studying environmental (including nutritional) risk factors are discussed. Section 20.3 indicates the prospective role of epidemiology in risk assessment and the way in which methodological limitations may be overcome.
