Exercises in Epidemiology: Applying Principles and Methods

266 Pages·2011·1.23 MB·English

by  Noel S. Weiss

EXERCISES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY
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EXERCISES IN
EPIDEMIOLOGY
Applying Principles
and Methods
NOEL S. WEISS
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weiss, Noel S., 1941-
Exercises in epidemiology : applying principles and
methods / Noel S. Weiss.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-979678-6
1. Epidemiology—Problems, exercises, etc. I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Epidemiologic Methods—Problems and Exercises. WA 18.2]
RA652.7.W45 2012
614.4—dc23
2011017403
____________________________________________
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
CONTENTS
Introduction vii
1. Rates and Proportions 3
2. Causal Inference 43
3. Confounding 69
4. Cohort Studies 119
5. Case-Control Studies 147
6. Multiple Causal Pathways and
Eff ect Modifi cation 175
7. Screening 207
References 237
Index 243
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INTRODUCTION
Th ere are a l ot of texts that deal with the principles and meth-
ods of epidemiology. I’ve been a coauthor of one of these myself.
All of the texts, to a greater or lesser extent, provide examples
of real or hypothetical epidemiologic studies to illustrate a given
principle or method. For many (probably most) readers of these
books, the examples help to solidify an understanding of the
topic at hand.
W hat the examples do not provide is the opportunity to
consider, on one’s own, how a particular issue ought to be dealt
with, or how a particular question should be addressed. Th e
purpose of this book is to supplement the material contained in
the textbooks in such a way that the reader is forced to: (1) iden-
tify situations in which the validity or accuracy of a particular
design or analytic approach may be limited; and (2) determine
how that limitation might be overcome. Such actions are just
those that epidemiologists have to take when they are planning
research or are reviewing that of others.
Th e key word in the preceding paragraph is s upplement . Th e
present book cannot stand alone as a means of learning about
epidemiology, or even as a means of being introduced to the
viii | INTRODUCTION
subject. My hope is that the exercises contained in it can extend
the knowledge of students of epidemiology, and equip them
more fully to deal with the real world problems and issues that
they’ll encounter in their professional lives.
Th e book is organized into seven chapters, each of which
contains a set of questions and answers to those questions. Any
reader who believes a given answer is incomplete (or wrong!)
is welcome to communicate with me ([email protected]). With
the reader’s permission, his/her suggestions will be posted on
the “discussion” page of that section of the Oxford University
Press website devoted to this book — perhaps with an additional
comment from me. No doubt all readers of this portion of the
website will benefi t from learning of diff erent viewpoints.
To minimize the likelihood of an ambiguous question being
present in this book, or an incomplete or incorrect answer,
I enlisted the help of the following persons to review parts of
the draft manuscript: Peter Cummings, Paul Doria-Rose, Sarah
Lowry, Amanda Phipps, Gaia Pocobelli, and Ali Rowhani-
Rahbar. Th e contributions of each of them helped to make the
chapters of the book that you are reading better than the draft
chapters that they received from me.
EXERCISES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY