• Rome
• occupational health

Work is unanimously considered a major health determinant. Knowledge of people's working conditions greatly contributes to the recognition and prevention of damages to their health and to health promotion. Following in the footsteps of Ramazzini and Thackrah, the study of the complex web of events linking people's work history to their disease status has over the centuries produced a systematic body of scientific knowledge—occupational medicine (OM)—which has received academic and professional recognition worldwide. Medical societies, university programmes, and national and international governmental agencies have been established in the field of occupational health. OM enjoys …