Consequences of exposure measurement error for confounder identification in environmental epidemiology.
Non-differential measurement error in the exposure variable is known to attenuate the dose-response relationship. The amount of attenuation introduced in a given situation is not only a function of the precision of the exposure measurement but also depends on the conditional variance of the true exposure given the other independent variables. In addition, confounder effects may also be affected by the exposure measurement error. These difficulties in statistical model development are illustrated by examples from a epidemiological study performed in the Faroe Islands to investigate the adverse health effects of prenatal mercury exposure.
Budtz-Jørgensen
Esben
E
Department of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. ebj@biostat.ku.dk
Keiding
Niels
N
Grandjean
Philippe
P
Weihe
Pal
P
White
Roberta F
RF
D015982:Bias; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008628:Mercury / Q000633:toxicity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors
D008628:Mercury