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Longitudinal Research02:20

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Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
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Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (Propensity Score) using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
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Assembling the Career Firefighter Health Study cohort: A methods overview.

Rachel Zeig-Owens1,2,3, Ankura Singh1,2, Suzanne Triplett4

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American Journal of Industrial Medicine
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Establishing a comparison group of firefighters not exposed to the World Trade Center (WTC) site is crucial for understanding WTC-related health conditions. This study outlines the challenges and methods for creating such a cohort to track cancer and chronic illnesses in rescue workers.

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Area of Science:

  • Occupational Health
  • Epidemiology
  • Environmental Health

Background:

  • World Trade Center (WTC) exposure is linked to increased health issues in rescue workers, but establishing causality is difficult due to a lack of comparison groups.
  • A National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) cohort of 29,992 career firefighters from three US cities was identified as a non-WTC-exposed group.
  • The study focuses on the challenges of creating this cohort to compare cancer and chronic health conditions between WTC-exposed and non-WTC-exposed firefighters.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To document the challenges encountered in establishing a non-WTC-exposed firefighter cohort.
  • To facilitate tracking and comparison of cancer and chronic health conditions in WTC-exposed versus non-WTC-exposed firefighters.
  • To lay the groundwork for future health outcome studies in firefighter populations.

Main Methods:

  • The process involved obtaining Institutional Review Board approvals and data use agreements.
  • Linkages with state cancer registries and vital status determination were performed for the NIOSH firefighter cohort.
  • Outreach to fire departments and union officials preceded direct recruitment of 14,566 living firefighters for a health survey, using staggered, multi-channel communication.

Main Results:

  • A total of 4,962 out of 14,566 eligible firefighters responded to the baseline survey, yielding a 34.1% response rate.
  • Survey respondents were found to be older and more likely to be non-Hispanic white compared to nonrespondents.
  • The recruitment process highlighted demographic differences between responders and non-responders.

Conclusions:

  • This study provides an overview of the methodology for collecting baseline physical and mental health data from US firefighters.
  • The established cohort and collected data are vital for future research on WTC rescue/recovery work.
  • The findings will significantly impact studies investigating the long-term health consequences of firefighting and WTC exposure.