Data from the TCE Subregistry, one of the chemical-specific subregistries of ATSDR's National Exposure Registry (NER), were reviewed to examine patterns of health condition reporting. This analysis examined consistency in reporting of health conditions by type and by registrant. The population was restricted to white, living registrants who had completed four interviews, Baseline through Followup 3 (N=2,787). Four "persistent" conditions were selected for review: arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and stroke. A registrant was considered a "consistent" reporter if, having once reported the condition, the registrant reported that condition at all subsequent followups. Among registrants who reported having the condition, diabetes was reported the most consistently (50.2%), followed by stroke (36.3%), arthritis (24.5%), and cancer (23.2%). Females reported all four conditions, except for cancer, more consistently than males; the difference was statistically significant for arthritis, cancer, and diabetes. Possible reasons for inconsistency include change in disease status, recall bias, health-care-seeking behavior, and wording of questions. To examine the potential underestimation of the effect of TCE on health, registrant responses in the TCE Subregistry file for "had condition in last 12 months" were compared at each time point with "ever had condition." Reporting rates for the four selected conditions increased 139% (diabetes) to 518% (cancer) when analyzed in the "ever had" time frame, compared with "last 12 months" time frame, as was done for published comparisons with National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data. TCE Subregistry data are available on the ATSDR website for researchers to use for further investigation.
Learning Objectives: To describe a methodological issue encountered when analyzing data from a longitudinal followup of a TCE-exposed population.
Keywords: Environmental Exposures, Methodology
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.