Exposure assessment error and its handling in nutritional epidemiology

Exposure assessment is the weakest element in nutritional epidemiologic studies. In the absence of an adequate arsenal of biomarkers of intake in the United States, food frequency questionnaires are widely used to assess habitual frequency of consumption of foods. These tools need to be designed for...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of public health 1995-01, Vol.16 (1), p.43-59
Main Authors: Kohlmeier, L, Bellach, B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
alimentos
Bias
Environmental Exposure - statistics & numerical data
epidemiologia
epidemiologie
epidemiology
etats unis
eua
Food Contamination - statistics & numerical data
foods
Humans
measurement
medicion
mesure
Nutrition Surveys
produit alimentaire
Research Design
Risk Assessment
usa
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Exposure assessment is the weakest element in nutritional epidemiologic studies. In the absence of an adequate arsenal of biomarkers of intake in the United States, food frequency questionnaires are widely used to assess habitual frequency of consumption of foods. These tools need to be designed for the population under study, based on prior information on the eating behavior of the population. The questions to be addressed to insure appropriate application of these tools are presented. The influence of various sources and types of measurement error on various scientific hypotheses is addressed. In assessment of nutrient adequacy, information on intra- to interindividual variation of the nutrient or substance of interest is essential. Risk assessment requires examination of sources and extent of bias and differential and nondifferential measurement error within the study. The theory required for error correction is well developed, but rarely carried out because of lack of software and lack of information needed to calibrate the measures.
ISSN:0163-7525
1545-2093
DOI:10.1146/annurev.pu.16.050195.000355