Exposure variability: concepts and applications in occupational epidemiology.
BACKGROUND
Standard approaches to assessing exposures for epidemiologic studies tend to concentrate resources on obtaining detailed data for each study participant at the expense of characterizing within-person variability.


METHODS
This paper presents some basic, generalizeable concepts concerning exposure and its variability, describes methods that can be used to analyze, describe, and understand that variability, and reviews related implications for the design and interpretation of epidemiologic studies.


CONCLUSIONS
Insufficient attention to the balance of within- and between-person variation in exposure can reduce the efficiency of measurement efforts and attenuate estimates of exposure-disease association. Exposure variability should consequently be considered carefully in the planning, analysis, and interpretation of epidemiologic studies. Greater attention to these matters can lead to more meaningful characterization of exposure itself, and, most importantly, improve the chances that epidemiologic studies can identify and accurately characterize health hazards.
Loomis
Dana
D
Departments of Epidemiology and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA. Dana.Loomis@unc.edu
Kromhout
Hans
H
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment