Hjorth Cathrine F, Kjærulff Thora M, Thomsen Mette K, Cronin-Fenton Deirdre, Dalton Susanne O, Olsen Maja H
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Clin Epidemiol. 2025 Jul 4;17:593-624. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S520772. eCollection 2025.
Socioeconomic differences in health have become an increasing public health concern and priority, leading to a growing number of studies investigating the relationship between socioeconomic position and health outcomes. However, variability in methodological practices hampers the comparability of findings and leads to inefficiencies, as researchers invest substantial resources in selecting appropriate variables and methods. To address these challenges, the SEPLINE initiative was established to develop a methodological guideline aimed at enhancing the comparability, quality, and feasibility of socioeconomic research using Danish registry data.
The guideline was developed through a consensus-driven approach involving an interdisciplinary group of stakeholders from Danish universities, research institutions, and data warehouses. The guideline addresses socioeconomic position as an exposure based on data from Danish registries, with the cancer continuum applied as a case outcome to illustrate its application. The development process included two collaborative workshops informed by a pre-workshop questionnaire. Workshop I (spring 2024) focused on socioeconomic indicators, data collection, and data management, featuring expert presentations and group discussions. Workshop II (fall 2024) addressed analytical methods, including causal inference challenges and income/wealth assessment methods. Insights from these workshops were integrated into iterative refinements of the guideline.
The guideline provides a structured framework for conducting socioeconomic epidemiological research using Danish registry data, offering specific information on data sources and recommendations about variable selection, measurement timing, and data handling. While tailored to Danish registry-based cancer research, the guideline's methodological principles have broader applicability to other diseases and international contexts. By emphasizing transparency, theoretical grounding, and methodological rigor, SEPLINE aims to advance the study of social determinants of health. Researchers are encouraged to use the guideline as a relevant starting point and adapt it to their specific study populations and research questions, ensuring its relevance across diverse settings.
健康方面的社会经济差异已成为日益受到关注的公共卫生问题和重点，导致越来越多的研究调查社会经济地位与健康结果之间的关系。然而，方法实践的差异阻碍了研究结果的可比性，并导致效率低下，因为研究人员在选择合适的变量和方法时投入了大量资源。为应对这些挑战，SEPLINE倡议得以设立，旨在制定一项方法指南，以提高使用丹麦登记数据进行的社会经济研究的可比性、质量和可行性。
该指南是通过一种共识驱动的方法制定的，参与的利益相关者来自丹麦的大学、研究机构和数据仓库，是一个跨学科小组。该指南将社会经济地位作为一种暴露因素，基于丹麦登记处的数据进行处理，并将癌症连续体作为病例结果应用，以说明其应用。制定过程包括两次协作研讨会，会前有问卷调查提供信息。研讨会一（2024年春季）聚焦于社会经济指标、数据收集和数据管理，有专家讲座和小组讨论。研讨会二（2024年秋季）讨论分析方法，包括因果推断挑战和收入/财富评估方法。这些研讨会的见解被纳入指南的迭代完善中。
该指南为使用丹麦登记数据进行社会经济流行病学研究提供了一个结构化框架，提供了关于数据来源的具体信息以及有关变量选择、测量时间和数据处理的建议。虽然该指南是针对基于丹麦登记处的癌症研究量身定制的，但其方法原则对其他疾病和国际背景具有更广泛的适用性。通过强调透明度、理论基础和方法严谨性，SEPLINE旨在推进对健康社会决定因素的研究。鼓励研究人员将该指南作为一个相关的起点，并根据其特定的研究人群和研究问题进行调整，确保其在不同环境中的相关性。
