New Developments in Chronic Disease Epidemiology: Competing Risks and Eligibility

Abstract

Conclusions drawn from epidemiological studies depend on the methods selected to compute the risk of reaction and death from specific causes. Studies restricted to limited segments of life-span and a small number of diseases often result in too great reliance on age-specific death rates. For chronic diseases such rates are not independent from previous and concurrent mortality experience. Problems stem from varying eligibilities of population segments to different causes of death and illness. Conditions of eligibility are discussed. A follow-up study of industrial workers is presented as an example.