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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Determination of the population size in an epidemiological study with children

G Ihorst1, J Forster, G Petersen

  • 1Institute of Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, University Hospital of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 26, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. gabi@imbi.uni-freiburg.de

Methods of Information in Medicine
|February 11, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Estimating pediatric population size for incidence studies is crucial. Using well-baby visits provides a reliable method, though exact figures are preferred for accuracy in epidemiological research.

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Pediatrics
  • Population Health

Background:

  • Accurate population size estimation is vital for epidemiological studies, particularly for incidence calculations.
  • Pediatric practices serve as key sites for monitoring child health and disease patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine a reliable method for estimating the population size of children in a pediatric practice for epidemiological studies.
  • To assess the accuracy of using well-baby visit data for population estimation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the number of regularly attended well-baby visits to estimate the pediatric population size.
  • Employed data from a prospective study (PRI.DE) on lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in Germany.
  • Compared estimations with exact practice figures when available.

Main Results:

  • Population size estimations using well-baby visits generally showed good fit, with deviations ranging from 11% to 17%.
  • In some instances, estimations exhibited poor fit with deviations as high as 60%.

Conclusions:

  • Emphasizes the importance of using exact population figures when obtainable for epidemiological studies.
  • Highlights the necessity of careful appraisal of estimation results to ensure reliability.
Abstract

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