A case-control study was conducted to determine if using any antihistamines arou

Question

A case-control study was conducted to determine if using any antihistamines around the time of conception increased the risk of birth defects in the offspring. No personal interviews were conducted regarding the subjects’ antihistamine use. Instead, women were considered exposed if computerized pharmacy records from their health maintenance organization indicated that they had filled at least one prescription for antihistamines within 500 days before the birth of the child.

Which type of observation bias is this data collection method most susceptible to? Also state whether it’s differential or non-differential?

Which type of observation bias is this data collection method least susceptible to in terms of exposure assessment?

Explanation / Answer

1. The case indicates an example of non-differential classification error where when the information is incorrect, but is the same across groups. In this case, all women were checked for antihistamine use 500 days before the birth of their child. As this question covers an extremely large time span, antihistamine use might get erroneously linked to some disease or condition. But as everyone in the study is asked the same error-inducing question, misclassification happens to everyone in the study.

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