Tarone R E, Alavanja M C, Zahm S H, Lubin J H, Sandler D P, McMaster S B, Rothman N, Blair A
Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Am J Ind Med. 1997 Feb;31(2):233-42. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199702)31:2<233::aid-ajim13>3.0.co;2-2.
Response rates were examined in a prospective epidemiologic study of individuals, mostly farmers, from Iowa and North Carolina seeking a pesticide applicator license during the period from 1994 through 1996. In the first year of enrollment 16,535 farmers (representing 77% of eligible farmer applicators) enrolled in the study by completing a 17-page questionnaire administered at a pesticide training session; 47% of the enrolled farmers completed and returned a much longer take-home questionnaire. The characteristics of farmers who completed only the enrollment questionnaire were quite similar to those of farmers who also completed and returned the take-home questionnaire. The most notable difference was the increased age of responders. Thus, the study population might have slightly higher cumulative farm exposures and slightly lower current farm exposures than the base population of all farmer applicators. The lack of evidence for substantial selection bias is reassuring for the Agricultural Health Study, and provides a measure of reassurance for other studies depending on the voluntary completion of self-administered questionnaires.
在一项前瞻性流行病学研究中，对1994年至1996年期间来自爱荷华州和北卡罗来纳州、大多为农民且寻求农药施用者许可证的个体的应答率进行了研究。在入组的第一年，16535名农民（占符合条件的农民施用者的77%）通过在一次农药培训课程中填写一份17页的问卷参与了该研究；47%的入组农民完成并返还了一份长得多的带回家填写的问卷。仅完成入组问卷的农民的特征与那些还完成并返还了带回家填写问卷的农民的特征非常相似。最显著的差异是应答者年龄的增加。因此，与所有农民施用者的基础人群相比，该研究人群可能有略高的累积农场接触量和略低的当前农场接触量。缺乏实质性选择偏倚的证据让农业健康研究令人安心，并为其他依赖自我填写问卷自愿完成情况的研究提供了一定程度的安心。
