Occupational Noise Exposure and Age Correction: The Problem of Selection Bias

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

关键词: age correction;    noise-induced;    age-related;    selection bias;    NIPTS;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph6123023

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Selection bias often invalidates conclusions about populations based on clinical convenience samples. A recent paper in this journal [1] makes two surprising assertions about noise-induced permanent threshold shift (NIPTS): first, that there is more NIPTS at 2 kHz than at higher frequencies; second, that NIPTS declines with advancing age. Neither assertion can be supported with the data presented, which were obtained from a clinical sample; both are consistent with the hypothesis that people who choose to attend an audiology clinic have worse hearing, especially at 2 kHz, than people of the same age and gender who choose not to attend.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2009 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.