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Accuracy of two geocoding methods for geographic information system-based exposure assessment in epidemiological
Elodie Faure1, Aurélie M N Danjou1,2, Françoise Clavel-Chapelon3,4,5
1Cancer and Environnent Department, Centre Léon Bérard, 28 rue Laennec, 69373, Lyon, Cedex, 08, France.
Environmental Health : a Global Access Science Source
|February 26, 2017
Summary
This study shows that automatic geocoding methods are feasible for environmental exposure assessment in epidemiological studies, with comparable accuracy. An in-house geocoder offered better control and efficiency for geocoding residential histories.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Epidemiology
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Spatial Analysis
Background:
- Accurate residential location data is crucial for environmental exposure assessment in epidemiological studies to prevent misclassification bias.
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are increasingly used to determine participants' proximity to environmental exposure sources.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the positional accuracy of two automatic geocoding methods against a manual reference method.
- To evaluate geocoding performance for historical residential addresses (1990-2008) in an epidemiological cohort.
Main Methods:
- Geocoded 4,247 historical address records from 1,685 women in the French E3N cohort using two automatic methods (free online service - A, in-house - B) and a manual reference (R).
- Compared positional accuracy based on urban/rural status and time periods (1990-2000, 2001-2008) using Chi Square tests.
- Assessed agreement between automatic methods (A, B) and reference method (R) using Kappa statistics.
Main Results:
- Methods A and B geocoded 81.4% and 84.4% of addresses to the street segment or exact address level, respectively.
- Geocoding accuracy was significantly higher in urban than rural areas (74.4% vs. 10.5%, p < 0.0001).
- Median positional errors were 0.0m (Method A) and 26.5m (Method B), with substantial agreement (Kappa=0.60 for A, 0.61 for B) with the reference method.
Conclusions:
- Automatic geocoding is feasible for historical residential addresses in epidemiological studies, even for residences over 20 years old.
- The accuracy of the two automatic geocoding methods was comparable.
- The in-house geocoder provided better process control and was more time-efficient.
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