| Titre : | What do negative associations between potential risk factors and illness in analytical epidemiological studies of infectious disease really mean ? Commentary. (2004) |
| Auteurs : | Louise SWIFT ; Paul-R HUNTER ; MAHON (Barbara-E) : USA. Department of Pediatrics. Boston University School of Medicine. MA. ; ROTHMAN (Kenneth-J) : USA. Division of Preventive Medicine. Department of Medicine. Boston University School of Medicine. MA. ; Boston University School of Public Health. Department of Epidemiology. Boston MA. USA ; University of East Anglia. School of Medicine Health Policy and Practice. Norwich. GBR |
| Type de document : | Article |
| Dans : | European journal of epidemiology (vol. 19, n° 3, 2004) |
| Pagination : | 205-223 (8p.) |
| Langues: | Anglais |
| Mots-clés : | Infection ; Facteur associé ; Association ; Facteur risque ; Epidémiologie ; Etude critique ; Homme ; Prion ; Age ; Estimation ; Risque relatif |
| Résumé : | [BDSP. Notice produite par INIST-CNRS 91L7R0x6. Diffusion soumise à autorisation]. In epidemiological studies of infectious diseases it is not unusual to find that some potential risk factors are negatively associated with risk of illness. The mechanisms generating these associations are unclear in many cases, though one explanation is immunity due to prior exposure. We derive mathematical models for the proportion of a population who are infected with a disease and the proportion who are susceptible in any year of life when individuals are at risk of exposure through more than one route. It is shown that risk of illness declines with increasing age and that this risk declines most rapidly in those groups at increased exposure. In high exposure groups, the relative risk of illness, compared to a group with lower exposure, also declines with age, eventually becoming less than one. The threshold age at which the relative risk is less than 1, i.e., factor B becomes protective decreases with higher exposure rates. Epidemiological studies may substantially underestimate the importance of risk factors where exposure is consistent over many years. |
Service Documentation EHESP
Me connecter
PORTAIL DOCUMENTAIRE
École des hautes études en santé publique
Catalogue
Multi-bases
Accueil
Sélection de la langue
Adresse
Service Documentation EHESPBibliothèque Rennes Avenue du Professeur Léon Bernard – CS 74312 – 35043 Rennes Cedex Bibliothèque MSSH Paris 20 avenue George Sand - 93210 La Plaine Saint-Denis
France
Bibliothèque Rennes : 02 99 02 29 50 Bibliothèque MSSH Paris : 02 99 02 24 50
contact