Assessing the Potential for Bias from Nonresponse to a Study Follow-Up Interview: An Example from the Agricultural Health Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alavanja M ; Beane Freeman LE ; Beard JD ; Chen H ; Henneberger, Paul K. ; Hoppin JA ; Kamel F ; Richardson DB ; Rinsky, Jessica L. ; Sandler DP ; Wing S
• Description:
  Prospective cohort studies are important tools for identifying causes of disease. However, these studies are susceptible to attrition. When information collected after enrollment is through interview or exam, attrition leads to missing information for nonrespondents. The Agricultural Health Study enrolled 52,394 farmers in 1993-1997 and collected additional information during subsequent interviews. Forty-six percent of enrolled farmers responded to the 2005-2010 interview; 7% of farmers died prior to the interview. We examined whether response was related to attributes measured at enrollment. To characterize potential bias from attrition, we evaluated differences in associations between smoking and incidence of 3 cancer types between the enrolled cohort and the subcohort of 2005-2010 respondents, using cancer registry information. In the subcohort we evaluated the ability of inverse probability weighting (IPW) to reduce bias. Response was related to age, state, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, smoking, and alcohol consumption. When exposure and outcome were associated and case response was differential by exposure, some bias was observed; IPW conditional on exposure and covariates failed to correct estimates. When response was nondifferential, subcohort and full-cohort estimates were similar, making IPW unnecessary. This example provides a demonstration of investigating the influence of attrition in cohort studies using information that has been self-reported after enrollment. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Cohort Studies Epidemiology Neoplasms Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Industry Analytical Processes Author Keywords: Attrition Cancer Rates Cohort Studies Epidemiologic Methods Health Surveys Inverse Probability Weights Loss To Follow-up Medical Research Occupational/Environmental Epidemiology Prospective Studies Selection Bias Statistical Quality Control

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• ISSN:
  0002-9262
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  395-404
• Volume:
  186
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069026
• Citation:
  Am J Epidemiol 2017 Aug; 186(4):395-404
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Jane A. Hoppin, Department of Biological Sciences, Campus Box 7633, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7633
• Email:
  jahoppin@ncsu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:aae1c7be765e1f0a912e7c2c36375bf21f3d99817d64bd94152acd47ce0bbe609174ef7795518c41e2f19ba381af46eb73425ea8068749710f4260edb234eacb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207576/cdc_207576_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 193.69 KB ]