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RELIABILITY OF REPORTING ON LIFESTYLE AND AGRICULTURAL FACTORS BY A SAMPLE OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE AGRICULTURAL HEALTH STUDY FROM IOWA
Citation:
Blair, A., R. Tarone, D. Sandler, C. Lynch, A. S. Rowland, W. Wintersteen, W C. Steen, C. Samanic, M. Dosemeci, AND M. Alavanja. RELIABILITY OF REPORTING ON LIFESTYLE AND AGRICULTURAL FACTORS BY A SAMPLE OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE AGRICULTURAL HEALTH STUDY FROM IOWA. EPIDEMIOLOGY 13(1):94-99, (2002).
Impact/Purpose:
The primary goal of the AHS Pesticide Exposure Study (AHS/PES) is to measure exposure to applied pesticides for a subset of the cohort of private pesticide applicators and to provide data to evaluate exposure algorithms developed for exposure classification in the study cohort.
Description:
Repeat interviews from 4,088 Iowa pesticide applicators participating in the Agricultural Health Study provided the opportunity to evaluate the reliability of self-reported information on pesticide use and various demographic and lifestyle factors. Self-completed questionnaires were administered one year apart when participants returned to county extension offices for pesticide certification or training. Percent agreement for ever/never use of specific pesticides and application practices was quite high, generally ranging from 70% to over 90%, and did not vary by age, educational level, or farm size. Agreement was lower (typically 50% to 60%) for duration, frequency, or decade of first use of specific pesticides. Level of agreement regarding pesticide use in this population is similar to that generally found for factors typically used in epidemiologic studies such as tobacco use and higher than typically reported for diet, physical activity, and medical conditions.
This work was supported by intramural funds from the National Cancer Institute.