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EPIDEMIOLOGIC CONCEPTS FOR INTERPRETING FINDINGS IN STUDIES OF DRINKING WATER EXPOSURES
Citation:
Calderon, R L., G. Craun, AND F. J. Frost. EPIDEMIOLOGIC CONCEPTS FOR INTERPRETING FINDINGS IN STUDIES OF DRINKING WATER EXPOSURES. Edition 1, Chapter 7, Frederick Pontius (ed.), Safe Drinking Water Act Compliance Book. John Wiley & Sons Incorporated, New York, NY, , 147-181.
Description:
To the inexperienced, environmental epidemiology may appear to be an uncomplicated, straightforward approach to studying exposure-disease associations in human populations. The studies can provide useful information about the risks of environmental exposures that human populations may actually experience, but the study designs and their conduct are not as simple as supposed. Many of the issues are complex and subtle, and this needs to be realized so that the findings will be meaningful. Because the studies appear to be so straightforward, they are sometimes conducted by investigators with little training and experience, often leading to results that are difficult to interpret. Scientists with little knowledge of epidemiology also feel comfortable explaining the importance of recently reported epidemiologic findings to the public, and this has led to conflicting interpretations of the findings.