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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Fluoride and dental caries: two different statistical approaches to the same data source.

A recent analysis of data from earlier papers on the relationship between dental caries and drinking water fluoride concentration suggested that the commonly accepted inverse relationship did not exist. Our reanalysis of those data, however, confirms the well-known association between fluoride concentration and dental caries. It also shows that the contrary result arose misleadingly from three simultaneous methodological errors: use of a unifactorial instead of a multifactorial model; omission of or over-aggregation of some data, and analysis of homoscedastic probits instead of heteroscedastic counts.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗
PubMed1982

A case-control study of cholecystectomy and right-side colon cancer: the influence of alternative data sources and differential interview participation proportions on odds ratio estimates.

One hundred fifty patients with right-side colon cancer (i.e., patients with adenocarcinoma of the cecum or ascending colon) were compared to 150 matched left-side colon cancer controls (i.e., patients with adenocarcinoma of the descending or sigmoid colon) and to 123 neighborhood controls, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1975-1978. The gastrointestinal surgical history was ascertained for all study subjects so that the presence or absence of a history of cholecystectomy could be noted. Cholecystectomy history was obtained through telephone interviews and whenever possible subsequently validated from operative and pathology reports at time of cholecystectomy. Cholecystectomy history for the colon cancer patients was also abstracted from hospital records at time of colon cancer diagnosis with an attempt to confirm the gallbladder's status through operative reports, cholecystograms, and physical examinations. Hospital records and interviews for the colon cancer patients appeared to provide accurate exposure history. Point estimates of the odds ratios and confidence intervals for intra- and inter-data source comparisons (i.e., hospital records, interviews, and hospital records and interviews combined) were comparable with similar measures of effect. Consistent odds ratio estimates appeared in both left-side colon cancer controls (1.9) and neighborhood controls (1.89). The authors suggest that changes in bile acid metabolism following cholecystectomy may be associated an increased risk of right-side colon cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1992

An overview of relevant data sources in the former USSR for studies in demographic trends, aging and noncommunicable disease problems.

This article provides an overview of health data available in the former USSR. It is not all-inclusive in terms of chronic diseases covered or in details of data collection activities carried out. However, several broad conclusions can be drawn: There is a system of population and mortality data collection which covers the former USSR and which can be disaggregated to smaller administrative areas. The system is being exploited by population specialists, demographers, medical demographers and epidemiologists, both nationally and internationally, both for analytical purposes and as part of health monitoring systems. A national-level data-collection system for morbidity and disability, based on delivery of health services, is in place and is exploited by both health researchers and health planners. The shortcomings of such a health service-based statistical system are well recognized. Further standardization or calibration of measures of total and cause-specific morbidity and disability measures should be examined. A potential calibration tool is the 1988-1993 health examination and interview survey covering a representative (but highly clustered) sample of the former USSR population. The possibilities of greater standardization of measurement procedures used in this survey should also be investigated. In certain disease areas, e.g. cardiovascular diseases, cancer, rheumatic diseases and gerontology, clinical and epidemiological studies involving international collaboration have been carried out. This has resulted in the use of internationally accepted disease definitions, diagnostic procedures, and of clinical and laboratory standardization of demographic, social and biological measurements. Participation in multilateral or bilateral studies should be encouraged in research in disease areas where these types of programmes have not yet been instituted.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aging↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alternative data sources in a case-control study of conjugated estrogens and cancer.

In a case-control study of the relationship of conjugated estrogen use to endometrial and breast cancer, we compared the availability and quality of information on risk factors from hospital charts and gynecologists' records. Of the women for whom an indication of Premarin use was recorded in either source, 19 percent would have been classified as nonusers by the hospital chart alone, a proportion that was similar for the breast (18 percent) and uterine (14 percent) cancer cases and controls (23 percent). However, for current use of Premarin, a higher proportion (28 percent) of users were identified solely through the gynecologists' records, and this proportion was even higher among controls (42 percent) than among either breast (18 percent) or uterine (15 percent) cancer cases. As a result, relative risk estimates varied according to the source of exposure date. Physicians' records also provided substantially more detail than hospital records on duration of Premarin use, especially for controls. Most demographic, medical, and reproductive variables were adequately available from the hospital charts alone. However, certain reproductive variables, such as age at first birth, presence or absence of ovaries, and age at menarche, were not adequately recorded in either source. These results suggest that gynecologists' records provide more accurate exposure data than hospital charts to determine current use of conjugated estrogens. Moreover, in the assessment of certain reproductive variables, the use of both these record-based sources may not be sufficient.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1991

Relations of job characteristics from multiple data sources with employee affect, absence, turnover intentions, and health.

Much of the evidence in support of job characteristics theory is limited to incumbent reports of job characteristics. In this study, job characteristics data from three independent sources--incumbents, ratings from job descriptions, and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles--were used. Convergent validities of incumbent reports with other sources were quite modest. Although incumbent reports of job characteristics correlated significantly with several employee outcomes (job satisfaction, work frustration, anxiety on the job, turnover intentions, and number of doctor visits), the other sources showed few significant correlations, except for number of doctor visits. Caution is urged in the use of incumbent self-reports of job characteristics as indicators of actual work environments. New methods for studying job characteristics are suggested.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1976

Medicaid records as a valid data source: the Tennessee experience.

Health care researchers rarely employ Medicaid claim files as a data base, in part because they are designed to serve fiscal and administrative ends. Indeed, some investigators have emphasized the deficiencies in such records. In contrast, we have found Tennessee Medicaid data to be suitable for research. A statewide automated data processing system reduces the occurrence of many of the errors noted by others. Further, analysis of the July 1974 month of payment file illustrates the accuracy and internal consistency of Tennessee Medicaid data. Specimen legend drug results for ambulatory patients suggest investigations of physician prescribing patterns. Evaluation of the Medicaid claims processing system suggests other applications in health care administration and research. In a time when available resources are dwindling, the incisive use of Medicaid claims files offers an attractive alternative to expensive new systems of data collection and analysis.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Health based geographical information systems: their potential examined in the light of existing data sources.

There is much potential for the use of geographical information systems (GIS) within the management and analysis of health and health care data. This paper addresses the problems of using routine data in the creation of geographical information systems for health. The numerous sources of British official routine health information however vary greatly in their geographical coverage and geographical detail. Particular attention therefore focuses upon the extent to which existing data sets can readily be used within GIS. Recommendations for changes in the data collection process are forwarded to improve the potential for GIS use. The overall utility of geographical health information systems within health service planning is illustrated using the example of community based activities.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Data sources and methods for ascertaining human exposure to drugs.

Estimates of population exposure based on drug use data are critical elements in the post marketing surveillance of drugs and provide a context for assessing the various risks and benefits associated with drug treatment. Such information is important in predicting morbidity and planning public health protection strategies, indepth studies, and regulatory actions. Knowledge that a population of one thousand instead of one million may potentially be exposed to a drug can help determine how a particular regulatory problem will be handled and would obviously be a major determinant in designing a case-control or cohort study. National estimates of drug use give an overview of the most commonly used drug therapies in current practice. They also furnish valuable comparison data for specific studies of drug use limited to one group of drugs, one geographic region, or one medical care setting. The FDA has access to several different national drug use data bases, each measuring a different point in the drug distribution channels. None covers the entire spectrum of drug exposures. The major "holes" in this patchwork of data bases are the inability to measure OTC drug use with any accuracy and the lack of qualitative information on drug use in hospitals. In addition, there is no patient linkage with the data. The data can only show trends in drug use. They impart no sense of the longitudinal use of drugs for individual patients. There is no direct connection between the different data bases, all of which have their own sampling frames and their own projection methodologies. The market research companies have complete control over these methodologies and they are subject to periodic changes, a situation not entirely satisfactory for epidemiologic research. Sometimes it is a struggle to keep up with these changes. Over the past two years, every one of these data bases has undergone some type of sampling or projection methodology change. One important limitation to the use of all of these data bases is that they are subscription data bases, that is, the FDA purchases the data under contract to the marketing research companies and by doing so assumes certain contract obligations. Anytime the FDA wants to release any data outside of the Agency, it must first notify the company in sufficient time for review and approval. Subscribing to these data bases is costly, but the subscription cost is insignificant, compared to the estimated cost of duplicating these services. In spite of all of the limitations of these systems, there are obvious advantages.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Computers↗
PubMed1990

Estimating the incidence and prevalence of rare rheumatologic diseases: a review of methodology and available data sources.

Where the need for descriptive epidemiology is great, population based registries can be established, at considerable cost, to provide the desired data. In many instances, however, there may be existing data and information systems that provide morbidity information on sufficiently large, well defined populations to allow reasonable estimates of the incidence and prevalence of rare rheumatologic diseases.

Connective Tissue Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Periodically repeated multi-phasic health tests--a unique data source for detecting subject-specific normal ranges.

When a comprehensive health check-up is repeated for the purpose of health control, the individual clinical data should be evaluated carefully by a proper normal range, which must be specific to each subject, if early detection of disease is a goal. The Perfect Liberty Health Control System, a health plan run on a membership basis, has been giving its periodic multi-phasic health tests to all of the 24 000 + members biannually since 1970. Studies concerning health parameter dynamics have been made on the data obtained and these are important to the new challenging field of clinical laboratory examinations. Other helpful aspects of this punctually repeated AMHTS (Automated Multi-phasic Health Testing) on a lifetime membership basis are also presented, such as cancer detection accuracy, protection from unnecessary X-ray exposure during examinations and a new form of physician's examination supported by current laboratory-data preview.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Data-source effects on the sensitivities and specificities of clinical features in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis: the relevance of multiple sources of knowledge for a decision-support system.

An experimental computer system was developed to support diagnosis of rheumatic disorders by computing diagnostic probabilities using modified likelihood ratios. The authors examined whether the performance of the model was affected by the settings in which the data used to derive the likelihood ratios were collected. The sensitivities and specificities of various clinical features for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were obtained from: 1) a study of 1,570 consecutive outpatients at a rheumatology clinic; 2) a review of the literature; 3) estimates by rheumatologists; and 4) a population study. Considerable variations in sensitivity and specificity but satisfactory agreement in likelihood ratios were found across the four data sets. The likelihood ratios were then used to compute the probabilities of RA in a test series of 570 of the rheumatology clinic outpatients. The model's diagnoses with likelihood ratios from the other sources were adequate. When the likelihood ratios from these sources were combined, discrimination came close to what could be achieved by using the likelihood ratios based on the data from the clinic. The method applied in the study, which makes use of variation of input data instead of variation of test series, and the results are relevant to assessing the external validity and transferability of Bayesian decision-support systems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

An evaluation of the American Medical Association's Physician masterfile as a data source--one state's experience.

An evaluation of the American Medical Association's (AMA) Physician Masterfile is presented here on a state level. Both completeness and reliability of the AMA data were assessed for physicians licensed and living in Washington State. Comparison of the AMA data with state -LICENsure data indicated excellent agreement, with only a small proportion of license physicians "missing" from the AMA Masterfile. Their absence was due largely to differences in the manner in which the two systems updated their files. The reliability of the AMA data was checked by comparing it with similar, independently gathered survey data on birth date, birthplace, medical school, type of practice, specialty, board certifications, and employer. In general, despite some minor deficiencies, the AMA data were shown to be highly reliable.

American Medical Association↗
PubMed1983

Injury surveillance. A review of data sources used by the Division of Safety Research.

Injury surveillance by the Division of Safety Research in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has the following two major purposes: the detection of significant changes in the status of worker safety to help define areas for research and the assessment of importance of various safety problems for priority setting in the Division. Surveillance of occupational injuries in recent years has realized a quantum improvement due to the availability of several extensive work-injury case data bases. The Division of Safety Research utilizes three of these to provide essentially independent sources of evidence for the identification and definition of problems for safety research. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, based on daily reports from a representative sample of hospital emergency rooms across the nation, provides case data such as age and sex of the injured worker, injury diagnosis, and product involvement. The Supplementary Data System annually provides worker's compensation case files which include the occupation and industry of the injured worker from selected states. A third level of detail is provided by the work injury report surveys of injured workers, conducted annually, and focused on specific accident types of injury groups. Findings, include high-risk occupations, age groups, tools, and equipment.

Accidents, Occupational↗