Cited by 494Statistical Methods in EpidemiologyAdvanced Causal Inference TechniquesMeta-analysis and systematic reviews

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Invited Commentary: Ecologic Studies—Biases, Misconceptions, and Counterexamples

Greenland, Sander, Robins, James·1994·American Journal of Epidemiology

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Abstract

Many authors have pointed out that relative-risk estimates derived from ecologic data are vulnerable to biases not found in estimates derived from individual-level data. Nevertheless, biases in ecologic studies still are often dealt with in the same manner as biases in other observational studies, and so are not given adequate treatment. This commentary reviews and illustrates some of the more recent findings about bias in ecologic estimates. Special attention is given to problems of ecologic confounder control when individual risks follow a nonlinear model, and to misconceptions about ecologic bias that have appeared in the literature.

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Authors: Greenland, S., & Robins, J.
Affiliations: University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author: Greenland, Sander
ORCID: Greenland, Sander
Robins, James
Venue: American Journal of Epidemiology
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published: 1994-04-15
Volume: 139
Issue: 8
Pages: 747-760
ISSN: 0002-9262 (ISSN-L)
1476-6256
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117069
OpenAlex: W2131305454
Cited by: 494
References: 21
Citations by year: 2026: 22 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 11
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: American Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institutes of Health (5k04es000180-03)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01AI032475)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P30ES000002, K04-ES00180)
Topics: Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Advanced Causal Inference Techniques
Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
Keywords: ecological study, relative risk estimation, confounder control, microdata, bias in observational studies
MeSH terms: Ecology, Epidemiologic Methods, Humans, Regression Analysis, Risk, Models, Statistical, Bias, Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic

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Invited Commentary: Ecologic Studies—Biases, Misconceptions, and Counterexamples

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