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A method for spatial analysis of risk in a population-based case-control study.
Verónica Vieira1, Thomas Webster, Ann Aschengrau
1Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Summary
This study introduces a new method to map disease risks using residential history. It helps identify potential environmental exposures linked to lung cancer in Massachusetts.
Area of Science:
- Environmental epidemiology
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in public health
- Spatial analysis of disease patterns
Background:
- Traditionally, disease mapping identified public health concerns.
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) enable advanced spatial analyses.
- Residential history data can reveal environmental exposures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a novel method for visualizing disease risks.
- To assess lung cancer risk based on residential history in Upper Cape Cod.
- To identify spatial patterns of lung cancer not explained by known risk factors.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a population-based case-control study with residential history.
- Applying GIS for geographically coded individual-level risk factors (age, smoking).
- Employing adaptive rate stabilization and kriging for risk surface interpolation.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated the association between lung cancer and residential location as an exposure indicator.
- Generated crude and adjusted odds ratio surfaces for lung cancer risk.
- Identified areas with elevated lung cancer risk potentially linked to unknown exposures.
Conclusions:
- Spatial disease risk mapping can uncover environmental exposures.
- This method aids in identifying areas needing further investigation for public health concerns.
- Confirmed the utility of GIS in understanding disease-environment interactions.