Statistics in Environmental Epidemiology Research Robert P. Clickner

1. Statistics in Environmental Epidemiology ResearchRobert P. Clickner Presentation at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of FSU’s Statistics DepartmentApril 17, 2009

2. Environmental Epidemiology The study of the environmental causes of diseases in populations and how these risks vary in relation to intensity and duration of exposure and other factors.

3. Environmental Fate and Transport • Emission • Transport • Exposure • Body Burden • Health Effects

4. Human Exposure Science The study of human contact with chemical, physical or biological agents occurring in their environments.

5. Typical Study • Identify Target Population • Design and Select a Sample of Participants • Recruit Selected Participants • Collect Data • Exposure Activities • Environmental Samples and Data • Health History • Biological Samples and Data • Analysis, Report and Presentation

6. Air: indoor, outdoor, personal Water: tap, well, beach Paint Dust: wipes, vacuum Soil Food (duplicate diet) Building materials Fluff Heavy metals Particulate matter Pesticides PAH’s VOC’s Allergens EMF Radon Asbestos PCB’s Environmental Sampling

7. Blood Urine Dermal Wipes Saliva Fingernails Biological Sampling

8. Wayne Fuller: Every step in the process sounds easier than it is. Anonymous 8th Grade science fair contestant: I learned that everything that you think will be the easy part of the experiment, will be the hardest tasks you will encounter.

9. Indoor Air Study at a Multi-building Campus: Reported Environmental Conditions Within and Between Buildings

10. Symptom experience (Misery Index) within and between buildings

11. Symptom Experience is Associated With Reported Environmental Conditions

12. 20.0 18.0 16.0 2 R = 0.3819 14.0 12.0 10.0 Total Symptom Days 8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 Overall Environmental Score Symptom Experience is Correlated with Reported Environmental Conditions

13. Blood Hg and frequency of seafood consumption

14. 2.4 Herring Pollock Breaded fish products Perch Cod Crayfish Oysters Mackerel Mussels Scallops Haddock 1.8 Salmon 1.2 Omega-3 fatty acids, g/100g fish Sardines Tuna (canned) Swordfish Tuna (fresh/frozen) Bass Trout 0.6 Walleye Seabass Shrimp Crabs Lobster King Mackerel Catfish Shark Porgy Tilefish Clams Pike Flatfish 0 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 1.75 Mercury, ug/g fish Hg & Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Fish

15. Tuna, canned and fresh/frozen Great Lakes Shrimp Salmon Inland Midwest Other shellfish Other finfish [Hg]<=0.2 µg/g Inland Northeast Other finfish [Hg]>0.2 µg/g Inland West Inland South Pacific Gulf of Mexico Atlantic 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mean reported frequency of consumption in 30-days Regional Variations in Fish/shellfish consumption

16. Hg Intake via Fish/Shellfish Consumption

17. Blood Mercury

18. A weak association

19. How statistics affects your life -

20. Presence and Condition of Lead Based Paint by Construction Year

21. Multi-Stage Sample – National Survey of Lead and Allergens in Homes • 96 M homes (= 1,404 PSUs) • 75 PSUs (County Clusters) 10-13 segments per PSU (= 39K HUs) • 2-3 HUs per segment (831 HUs completed)

22. NSLAH: 75-PSU Sample

23. NSLAH – Within Home Sampling • 4-6 rooms/Home • Test specified components/surfaces

24. Listing housing units

27. Measurement Error • More than just instrument error, also: • Spatial variation • Temporal variation • Variation between survey staff (By John Rogers, Westat)

28. How does Measurement Error Bias Percentiles?

29. How Does Measurement Error Bias Regression Slopes?

30. Estimating Adjusted Percentiles

31. Health Effects of Kuwaitis’ Exposure to Oil Fires

34. Air sampling equipment

35. Personal air monitor

36. Practice interviewing

37. The questionnaire

38. Health effects of children’s exposure to air pollutants

41. Health effects of swimming in unclean beaches

42. Collecting Water Samples

44. Develop Sand Sampling Protocol

45. Refine the protocol

46. Water sampling - schematic

50. Surprise!