Data on prior pesticide use collected from self- and proxy respondents.
Proxy respondents have often been used in case-control studies of cancer and pesticides. To evaluate the effect of exposure misclassification, we compared data collected during 1981-1983 from participants interviewed for a case-control study of leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with data collected during 1990-1991 from proxy respondents for participants who died or became incompetent since the initial interview (328 self-proxy pairs). As questions increased in detail, agreement percentages decreased. Agreement percentages were highest for demographic and general farming information (averages = 88-90%) and lowest for specific pesticide use (averages = 68-74%). Generally, odds ratios calculated from proxy respondent data were less than those from self-respondent data; however, several exceptions occurred. The findings indicate that pesticide data provided by proxy respondents will not necessarily result in the same estimate of risk and/or lead to the same conclusions as data provided by self-respondents.
Johnson
R A
RA
Section of Chronic Disease and Environmental Epidemiology, Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis 55440.
Mandel
J S
JS
Gibson
R W
RW
Mandel
J H
JH
Bender
A P
AP
Gunderson
P D
PD
Renier
C M
CM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011153:Population; D012307:Risk Factors; D012650:Self Disclosure
D010575:Pesticides