Re: Radon - recent articles supporting risk at residentialexposures

[hflong@postoffice.pacbell.net]

John and radsafers,

Field's "Rebuttal" included, " The participants' smoking histories do not need to match the smoking histories of the controls since the effect of

smoking can be adjusted for using standard statistical methods."



This followed Klaus Beckers' statement in Topics Under Debate , p79,

 Radiation Protection Dosimetry V95,#1 pp75-81(2001), "Incidentally, it should be noted that in the Iowa Lung cancer Study by Field et al, 86% of the

lung cancer cases were smokers, but only 32% of the controls."



So, "controls" were NOT matched. "Controls" had few smokers, vs cases..

Who accepts this statistical "adjutment"- especially in the selected 1% location of a large mortality study where there was NOT less lung cancer with

more radon?



Howard Long



John Williams wrote:



> Ruth,

>

> I agree that if you use ecologic data to try to examine radon risk

> without individual data on smoking, that indeed is a fishing

> expedition.  When Field examined Cohen's data he found a huge

> p<0.000001 inverse relationship between the county smoking rates and

> radon.  Run the analyses yourself.  If you do not correct for the

> smoking duration, rate, cross level bias, you will be left with

> residual confounding that will give you the impression radon is

> extending lives when in fact what you are seeing is the lower county

> smoking rates extending lives.  Because of the cross-level bias you

> can not make decent adjustments at the aggregate level.

>

> Sent by Law  Mail

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