[Evaluation of mailed epidemiologic inquiries].

The mailed inquiry is a economical and useful epidemiologic survey method. Comparison and discussion of data from the mailed inquiries and home interviews were done. More than 60 items which included general questions, height and weight, sources of drinking water, dietary habits, histories of smoking and alcohol consumption, physical activities, medical histories, parents medical histories and income were analysed, there was no significant difference in 45 items of the above data and a very significant relative coefficients between there two methods. Only 16 items which focused on alcohol and oil consumption, income, etc. had significant differences, but the most still had positive-relative correlation (P less than 0.05). The response rate of the mailed inquiries was 87.1 percent. In addition, the mailed questionnaire also was discussed.