Systematic methods in population health risk assessment

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Sound statistical methods are essential for a proper evaluation of toxicological and epidemiological data on potential risks to the health of Canadians. The present research program focuses on six objectives. (1) The World Health Organization estimates that approximately one-quarter of global burden of illness and more than one-third for children is attributable to environmental factors. An assessment of the environmental burden of disease in Canada will be conducted using similar methods. (2) To ensure that population based studies of potential human health risks provide risk estimates that are as accurate as possible, statistical methods for assessing exposure measurement errors in such studies will be developed. (3) Models for predicting the risks of animal diseases that may be transmitted to humans will be developed, and applied to predict the risks of chronic wasting disease, which is now found in Alberta and Saskatchewan. (4) Statistical methods for describing dose-response curves for essential elements such as copper that are also toxic at high doses will be developed. These methods can then be used to establish a range of allowable daily intakes of essential elements. (5) With the anticipated explosion in the use of in vitro tests for toxicological risk assessment, there is a pressing need for the development of statistical methods capable of analyzing the large volumes of data that will be produced in laboratory studies of toxicity in the future. (6) With the anticipated changes in toxicological risk assessment, there is a concomitant need to adapt risk assessment practices to this new paradigm.