Mail Survey Response by Health Status of Smokers, Nonsmokers, and Ex-Smokers1

Oakes, T.W.; Friedman, Gary D.; Seltzer, Carl C.

doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a121532

Cited by 37 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…However, this confounding action should be of minor importance, considering that smoking was not associated with an increase in respiratory symptom prevalence, with the sole exception of wheezing, in agreement with the current literature [23]. Also, in this respect, the confounding action of smoking lost much of its strength, as the importance of smoking as a risk factor for wheezing markedly decreased from early to late responders; later responders included more smokers, who, however, presented less respiratory problems, as shown previously [24]. These results, however, must be interpreted with caution, since nonresponse in Stage 2 was remarkable, and preferentially affected late responders.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Nonresponse bias in EC Respiratory Health Survey in Italy

Marco¹,

Verlato²,

Zanolin³

et al. 1994

Eur Respir J

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In the three Italian centres involved in the European CommunityRespiratory Health Survey (ECRHS), prevalence of asthma-like symptoms was assessed through a mailback questionnaire. Since the nonresponse rate was not negligible, ranging 10-18%, we investigated whether nonresponse bias affected the results and, if so, whether the bias could be eliminated from the final estimates of prevalence.A screening questionnaire was sent by mail to 7,000 randomly selected subjects 20-44 yrs of age, and nonresponders were contacted again by phone. Additional information was collected on a subsample of the respondents through a clinical interview.A logistic regression analysis showed that, except for one symptom (awakening for coughing), symptom prevalence significantly decreased from the first to the subsequent contact, when controlling for age, sex, centre and season of interview. The decrease in symptom prevalence was largely independent of smoking habits and socioeconomic status, and was seemingly caused by a symptom-related selfselection. When correcting results according to a linear regression model, observed estimates appeared to be slightly overestimated, by 4-10%. A simulation with the Italian data showed that the bias increased steeply at nonresponse rate higher than 30%, a situation quite common in asthma surveys.In conclusion, nonresponse bias affects the results of ECRHS in Italy, slightly inflating prevalence estimates. To make reliable comparisons on international data in the presence of different nonresponse rates, a correction of the observed prevalence seems necessary.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Nonresponse bias in EC Respiratory Health Survey in Italy

Marco¹,

Verlato²,

Zanolin³

et al. 1994

Eur Respir J

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“…19 No clear association between age and response has been established by others, who have reported a direct relationship,20 an inverse association, 10 21 and no relationship. 13,22 In this investigation, there was little differential response by age.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Characteristics of respondents and non-respondents to a mailed questionnaire.

Barton¹,

Bain²,

Hennekens³

et al. 1980

Am J Public Health

103

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In establishing a cohort of U.S. nurses, an assessment of response bias was made comparing respondents and non-respondents with regard to age, education, state of residence, employment status, field of employment, and major specialty. Overall, the 122,328 respondents (69.7 per cent) and 43,222 non-respondents were quite similar. Together with the reasonable response rate in a homogeneous population, this suggests that estimation of exposure-disease associations is unlikely to be affected by major bias due to non-response. (Am J Public Health 1980; 70:823-825).

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“…Smoking habits reported by individuals themselves have long been the core of national investigations, mainly due to cost-effectiveness, convenience and the fact that the validity and accuracy of such methods have been previously demonstrated 88,89) . Although response rates have generally been quite high for national surveys, it was noted as early as 1973 that questionnaire response times may vary depending on an individual's smoking status, with smokers being slower to respond than ex-smokers 90) . Such epidemiological shortfalls therefore, may exist within any national studies of occupational tobacco use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tobacco Smoking by Occupation in Australia and the United States: A Review of National Surveys Conducted between 1970 and 2005

Smith

2008

Ind Health

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Tobacco use represents a key issue in workplace health, and much can be learned from countries where occupational smoking data has been regularly collected on a national basis. This article reviews national smoking surveys previously conducted in Australia and the United States between 1970 and 2005, and examines their relevance to the field of occupational tobacco control. When the first preliminary research was undertaken over 35 years ago, tobacco smoking was a regular feature in the general population of both countries, albeit with higher rates often documented among blue collar workers. Recent national investigations however, suggest that certain historical differences in smoking prevalence rates by occupation are persisting as we enter the 21st century. Detailed examination also indicates that employee sub-groups, such as cleaners and construction workers, are now bearing much of the occupational smoking burden in Australia and the United States. As such, there is an urgent need for more aggressive and finely targeted tobacco control activities in the workplace, as well as increased cooperation between tobacco control organizations, labor unions and other stakeholders, so that they may more effectively combat this ongoing threat to workers' health.Key words: Smoking, Occupation, Tobacco, Australia, United States, Survey, Epidemiology decrease absenteeism and increase productivity among staff 17) .Even so, one of the major historical conundrums in occupational tobacco control is the fact that smoking rates are not evenly distributed across all job categories 18) . Indeed, during recent years, growing disparities in tobacco consumption have become increasingly apparent across many occupational subgroups 19) . Although community smoking rates are declining in many countries, certain occupational groups, such as blue-collar workers, still continue to use tobacco at high rates when compared to their white collar counterparts 19) . Unfortunately, many of the impressive reductions in community smoking rates achieved last century have largely bypassed the blue collar workforce. Given the fact that the workplace represents an ideal location for anti-smoking programs among staff [15][16][17] , occupational smoking studies have an important role in identifying exactly which workplaces would most benefit from tobacco control interventions. In order to most effectively distribute and target preventive health care efforts at a national level therefore, accurate and upto-date information on national tobacco smoking rates by job category are essential.From an epidemiological perspective, there is also the critical issue of statistical confounding in occupational mortality studies, given the fact that tobacco plays such a major role in the development of many chronic workplace diseases. Smoking and occupation are known to be substantially confounded 20,21) , and a lack of accurate data may lead to biased assessments of the relationship between disease and occupational exposures 22) , particularly when the occupat...

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Mail Survey Response by Health Status of Smokers, Nonsmokers, and Ex-Smokers1

Cited by 37 publications

References 0 publications

Nonresponse bias in EC Respiratory Health Survey in Italy

Nonresponse bias in EC Respiratory Health Survey in Italy

Characteristics of respondents and non-respondents to a mailed questionnaire.

Tobacco Smoking by Occupation in Australia and the United States: A Review of National Surveys Conducted between 1970 and 2005

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