Consequences of exposure measurement error for confounder identification in environmental epidemiology

Esben Budtz-Jørgensen, Niels Keiding, Philippe Grandjean, Pal Weihe, Roberta F. White

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.
Original languageEnglish
JournalStatistics in Medicine
Volume22
Issue number19
Pages (from-to)3089-100
Number of pages11
ISSN0277-6715
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2003

Bibliographical note

Keywords: Bias (Epidemiology); Confounding Factors (Epidemiology); Environmental Exposure; Epidemiologic Methods; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Humans; Mercury; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Regression Analysis; Risk Factors

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