Epidemiology in the workplace: the problem of misclassification.
Strategies for recognition and quantification of misclassification are presented. Misclassification occurs when a subject is placed in the wrong "exposure" or the wrong "outcome" category as a result of the failure of an index measurement to reflect exposure or disease accurately. Data from a Health Hazard Evaluation illustrate how misclassification may result in an unwarranted etiologic assumption. Data from a lung cancer screening program illustrate how misclassification may result in erroneous estimates of disease prevalence.
D000328:Adult; D004651:Employment; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*