Abstract | BACKGROUND: Exposure misclassification may occur when nonspecific exposure indicators are used. Developing estimates of more specific measures may be difficult due to sampling limitations or a paucity of historical measurements and, thus, often requires substantial effort. We examine the impact on exposure-response relationships of moving from 2 measures of exposure mixtures (dust, chlorophenols) to more specific exposure indicators (wood dust, pentachlorophenol, tetrachlorophenol) in a retrospective cohort. METHODS: The study population consisted of 26,847 male sawmill workers (> or =1 year employment between 1950 and 1995) with linkage to national cancer registries. A subcohort (n = 11,273 employed more than 1 day between 1985 and 1995) was linked to hospital discharge records. We evaluated the shape (log-linear vs log-log models), goodness of fit, precision, and expected versus observed attenuation of the exposure-response relationships. RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: The relationships between health outcomes were substantially attenuated when nonspecific exposure indicators were used. This study demonstrates the importance of developing exposure metrics as specific to the disease-causing agent as possible, particularly when the composition of mixed exposures varies by work areas.
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Authors | Melissa C Friesen, Hugh W Davies, Kay Teschke, Aleck S Ostry, Clyde Hertzman, Paul A Demers |
Journal | Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)
(Epidemiology)
Vol. 18
Issue 1
Pg. 88-94
(Jan 2007)
ISSN: 1044-3983 [Print] United States |
PMID | 17130686
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)
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Chemical References |
- Chlorophenols
- Dust
- tetrachlorophenol
- Pentachlorophenol
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Topics |
- British Columbia
(epidemiology)
- Chlorophenols
(adverse effects)
- Cohort Studies
- Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic
- Data Interpretation, Statistical
- Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
- Dust
(analysis)
- Humans
- Kidney Neoplasms
(epidemiology)
- Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin
(epidemiology)
- Male
- Occupational Diseases
(epidemiology)
- Occupational Exposure
(adverse effects, statistics & numerical data)
- Pentachlorophenol
(adverse effects, analysis)
- Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
(epidemiology)
- Retrospective Studies
- Wood
(adverse effects)
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