Kurtzke J F, Lux W E
Neurology. 1985 Dec;35(12):1787-90. doi: 10.1212/wnl.35.12.1787.
In epidemiologic studies, mortality data can provide large numbers of cases of broad geographic extent, but diagnostic errors and case ascertainment bias may be present. We found that the geographic distribution of MS in the United States, as derived from mortality data, was comparable with that derived from a large, nationwide case-control study. In MS, evaluation of mortality provides an accurate picture of national geographic distribution supportable by more sophisticated methods. Although conclusions drawn from mortality data could be misleading, they may be accurate and are certainly worthy of further study.
在流行病学研究中，死亡率数据可提供大量涉及广泛地理范围的病例，但可能存在诊断错误和病例确定偏倚。我们发现，根据死亡率数据得出的美国多发性硬化症（MS）地理分布与来自一项大型全国性病例对照研究的结果相当。对于MS，死亡率评估提供了全国地理分布的准确情况，且有更精密的方法作为支撑。虽然从死亡率数据得出的结论可能具有误导性，但也可能是准确的，当然值得进一步研究。
