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The impact of image resolution on power, bias, and confounding: A simulation study of ambient light at night exposure

Studies of the impact of environmental pollutants on health outcomes can be compromised by mismeasured exposures or unmeasured confounding with other environmental exposures. Both problems can be exacerbated by measuring exposure from data sources with low spatial resolution. Artificial light at nig...

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Autores principales: McIsaac, Michael A., Sanders, Eric, Kuester, Theres, Aronson, Kristan J., Kyba, Christopher C. M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8043729/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33870017
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000145
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author McIsaac, Michael A.
Sanders, Eric
Kuester, Theres
Aronson, Kristan J.
Kyba, Christopher C. M.
author_facet McIsaac, Michael A.
Sanders, Eric
Kuester, Theres
Aronson, Kristan J.
Kyba, Christopher C. M.
author_sort McIsaac, Michael A.
collection PubMed
description Studies of the impact of environmental pollutants on health outcomes can be compromised by mismeasured exposures or unmeasured confounding with other environmental exposures. Both problems can be exacerbated by measuring exposure from data sources with low spatial resolution. Artificial light at night, for example, is often estimated from low-resolution satellite images, which may result in substantial measurement error and increased correlation with air or noise pollution. METHODS: Light at night exposure was considered in simulated epidemiologic studies in Vancouver, British Columbia. First, we assessed statistical power and bias for hypothetical studies that replaced true light exposure with estimates from sources with low resolution. Next, health status was simulated based on pollutants other than light exposure, and we assessed the frequency with which studies might incorrectly attribute negative health impacts to light exposure as a result of unmeasured confounding by the other environmental exposures. RESULTS: When light was simulated to be the causal agent, studies relying on low-resolution data suffered from lower statistical power and biased estimates. Additionally, correlations between light and other pollutants increased as the spatial resolution of the light exposure map decreased, so studies estimating light exposure from images with lower spatial resolution were more prone to confounding. CONCLUSIONS: Studies estimating exposure to pollutants from data with lower spatial resolution are prone to increased bias, increased confounding, and reduced power. Studies examining effects of light at night should avoid using exposure estimates based on low-resolution maps, and should consider potential confounding with other environmental pollutants.
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spelling pubmed-80437292021-04-16 The impact of image resolution on power, bias, and confounding: A simulation study of ambient light at night exposure McIsaac, Michael A. Sanders, Eric Kuester, Theres Aronson, Kristan J. Kyba, Christopher C. M. Environ Epidemiol Original Research Article Studies of the impact of environmental pollutants on health outcomes can be compromised by mismeasured exposures or unmeasured confounding with other environmental exposures. Both problems can be exacerbated by measuring exposure from data sources with low spatial resolution. Artificial light at night, for example, is often estimated from low-resolution satellite images, which may result in substantial measurement error and increased correlation with air or noise pollution. METHODS: Light at night exposure was considered in simulated epidemiologic studies in Vancouver, British Columbia. First, we assessed statistical power and bias for hypothetical studies that replaced true light exposure with estimates from sources with low resolution. Next, health status was simulated based on pollutants other than light exposure, and we assessed the frequency with which studies might incorrectly attribute negative health impacts to light exposure as a result of unmeasured confounding by the other environmental exposures. RESULTS: When light was simulated to be the causal agent, studies relying on low-resolution data suffered from lower statistical power and biased estimates. Additionally, correlations between light and other pollutants increased as the spatial resolution of the light exposure map decreased, so studies estimating light exposure from images with lower spatial resolution were more prone to confounding. CONCLUSIONS: Studies estimating exposure to pollutants from data with lower spatial resolution are prone to increased bias, increased confounding, and reduced power. Studies examining effects of light at night should avoid using exposure estimates based on low-resolution maps, and should consider potential confounding with other environmental pollutants. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 2021-04-02 /pmc/articles/PMC8043729/ /pubmed/33870017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000145 Text en Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The Environmental Epidemiology. All rights reserved. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) , where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.
spellingShingle Original Research Article
McIsaac, Michael A.
Sanders, Eric
Kuester, Theres
Aronson, Kristan J.
Kyba, Christopher C. M.
The impact of image resolution on power, bias, and confounding: A simulation study of ambient light at night exposure
title The impact of image resolution on power, bias, and confounding: A simulation study of ambient light at night exposure
title_full The impact of image resolution on power, bias, and confounding: A simulation study of ambient light at night exposure
title_fullStr The impact of image resolution on power, bias, and confounding: A simulation study of ambient light at night exposure
title_full_unstemmed The impact of image resolution on power, bias, and confounding: A simulation study of ambient light at night exposure
title_short The impact of image resolution on power, bias, and confounding: A simulation study of ambient light at night exposure
title_sort impact of image resolution on power, bias, and confounding: a simulation study of ambient light at night exposure
topic Original Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8043729/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33870017
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/EE9.0000000000000145
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