|
The
Analysis of Birth Weight and Infant Mortality
An Alternative Hypothesis
By
Allen J. Wilcox
Birth weight
is one of the most commonly studied variables in
epidemiology.
It
is associated with health risks ranging from infant mortality
to cardiovascular disease. The usual approach assumes that
birth weight is on the causal pathway to whatever health
endpoint is of interest. The
alternative, discussed here, is that birth weight is not
causally related to health, at least on a population level.
If this is true, it has profound implications for the analysis
of birth weight and infant mortality or any other health
endpoint.
Much
of the material on this web site has also been published
as a commentary (Acrobat PDF)
in the International Journal of Epidemiology (December 2001).
It is reproduced here with permission of Oxford University
Press.
Web Site Purpose
- to describe the key features of birth weight as an epidemiologic
variable
-
to show the problems with low birth weight as a "cause"
of infant mortality
- to propose
an alternative framework for the relation of birth weight
and mortality
-
to provide an interactive program
for analysis of birth weight distributions
Web Site Contents
|
|
|
Return
to this page. |
| |
|
A
tutorial discussing the underlying relation of birth
weight and infant mortality and its implications for
epidemiologic analysis. |
| |
|
An
on-line program to analyze birth weight data. |
| |
|
Send
questions, comments, and suggestions to Dr. Wilcox. |
|
