Response to the “letter to the editor” by Sani Rachman Soleman et al., “spatiotemporal association of low birth weight with Cs-137 deposition at the prefecture level in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents”

Abstract

We thank Sani Rachman Soleman et al. for three specific points of criticism concerning our investigation of the ecological association between low birth weight (LBW) and radioactive contamination in Japan after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accidents: Ecological variables are not justified enough to adjust potential confounding. The spatiotemporal regression model does not consider temporal reduction in radiation dose rate. Dose-response plot between dose rates and odds ratios overestimates R2and underestimates p-value. This criticism is a good starting point to explain some of the technical backgrounds of our approach in more detail.

Methodological considerations for interrupted time series analysis in radiation epidemiology: an overview

“…However, ITSA requires topic-specific methodological considerations, and also involves limitations beyond those of ecological studies in general [29,30]. Previous accounts of ITSA strengths and limitations have mostly been published in relation to specific analyses [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Frequently, these discussions thus had a restricted scope.…”