Analysis of health effects data: some results and problems
This paper describes an Environmental Protection Agency study program given the acronym CHESS, for Community Health and Environmental Surveillance System. The purpose of these studies is to relate air pollution levels to both acute and chronic human health effects. Communities selected for study must have an exposure gradient ranging from low to high for the pollutant of interest. Other factors, including age and sex composition, smoking habits, and socioeconomic levels of residents, must be similar or easily adjusted for when data are analyzed. Pollution is measured daily as a 24 hr integrated sample at several sites, althpugh some continuous monitors are now being used. The biometric phase of these studies includes problems of data collection and processing, and statistical analyses. This paper briefly outlines some of the problems which have been encountered in the biometric phase of the program and describes some solutions that have been adopted. A brief summary of the results of a few studies are shown. Lastly, a few unsolved problems are listed in the hope that others might provide sime possible solutions.
