Ziem G E
Occupational and Environmental Medicine Research Office, Baltimore, MD 21217.
Toxicol Ind Health. 1992 Jul-Aug;8(4):73-86.
Reducing unnecessary chemical exposures, particularly pesticides and other petrochemicals, shows promise for reducing illness episodes in the chemically sensitive. Because similar types of exposures have been associated with the onset of chemical sensitivity, such precautions could have wider preventive value for the rest of society as well. Many uses of chemicals have dubious social benefits, and reduced use should be achievable. The chemical industry will likely bitterly contest the reduced use of chemicals because it stands to lose substantial sales. Compensation and liability insurance carriers also stand to lose if the environment is found problematic, rather than individual psychology, for example. Professionals should also recognize conflicts of interest for the chemical and insurance industries by openly acknowledging funding sources for research. The author believes that research on chemical sensitivity that blames the psyche of the victim rather than the chemical will more likely be funded by the insurance or chemical industry than will other research. Study designs should be developed in an atmosphere removed from financial conflicts of interest. This means a substantially larger role for government funding of research on chemical sensitivity to avoid biasing the knowledge base by financially interested parties. The time is critical for government funding of research on chemical sensitivity because the illness is being defined and characterized. If preliminary research is flawed by improper design and focus, our understanding of the problem could be delayed for years.
减少不必要的化学物质接触，尤其是农药和其他石化产品，有望减少化学敏感人群的发病次数。由于类似类型的接触已与化学敏感性的发作相关联，此类预防措施对社会其他人群也可能具有更广泛的预防价值。许多化学品的使用所带来的社会效益存疑，减少其使用应该是可行的。化学工业可能会激烈反对减少化学品的使用，因为这会使其销售额大幅下降。例如，如果发现问题出在环境而非个人心理上，赔偿和责任保险公司也会遭受损失。专业人士还应通过公开承认研究的资金来源，认识到化学工业和保险业存在的利益冲突。作者认为，相较于其他研究，将化学敏感性问题归咎于受害者心理而非化学物质的研究更有可能由保险或化学工业资助。研究设计应在没有财务利益冲突的环境中进行。这意味着政府在资助化学敏感性研究方面应发挥更大的作用，以避免受利益相关方的影响而使知识基础产生偏差。政府资助化学敏感性研究的时机至关重要，因为这种疾病正在被定义和描述。如果初步研究因设计不当和重点错误而存在缺陷，我们对该问题的理解可能会被推迟数年。
