Using contextual factors beyond individual factors, contextual analysis allows a more accurate identification of at-risk populations, which could be useful when planning health programs. Multilevel models, widely used in British and North-American social epidemiology research but less frequently in France, are particularly suitable to analyse contextual data, because they take into account thei...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study is to produce a detailed yet robust description of the epidemiologic transition in The Netherlands. METHODS National mortality data on sex, age, cause of death and calendar year (1875-1992) were extracted from official publications. For the entire period, 27 causes of death could be distinguished, while 65 causes (nested within the 27) could be studied f...

Social class standardisation has been proposed as a method for separating the effects of occupation and "social" or "lifestyle" factors in epidemiological studies, by comparing workers in a particular occupation with other workers in the same social class. The validity of this method rests upon two assumptions: (1) that social factors have the same effect in all occupational groups in the same ...

BACKGROUND Dogs are popular pets in many countries. Identifying differences between those who own dogs or have contact with dogs, and those who do not, is useful to those interested in the human-animal bond, human health and for provision of veterinary services. This census-based, epidemiological study aimed to investigate factors associated with dog ownership and contact with dogs, in a semi-r...

BACKGROUND Often in survey research, subsets of the population invited to complete the survey do not respond in a timely manner and valuable resources are expended in recontact efforts. Various methods of improving response have been offered, such as reducing questionnaire length, offering incentives, and utilizing reminders; however, these methods can be costly. Utilizing characteristics of ea...

Descriptive epidemiology research involves collecting data from large numbers of subjects. Obtaining these data requires approaches designed to achieve maximum participation or response rates among respondents possessing the desired information. We analyze participation and response rates in a population-based epidemiological study though a telephone survey and identify factors implicated in co...

BACKGROUND Autoimmune bullous diseases (ABDs) represent a group of rare, acquired disorders characterized by overlapping features with involvement of the skin and mucous membranes, resistance to treatment, and potential lethality that comprise pemphigus, bullous pemphigoid (BP), epidermolysis bullosa, dermatitis herpetiformis, and linear immunoglobulin A bullous dermatosis. AIM The main aim o...

Epidemiologic data suggest that consumption of whole-grain products may be inversely associated with risk of pancreatic cancer. Grain intake was examined in a population-based case-control study of pancreatic cancer in the San Francisco Bay Area (1995-1999). A 131-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was administered to 532 cases and 1,701 controls. Odds ratios and 95% confidence ...