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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Challenges in integrating biological data sources.

Scientific data of importance to biologists reside in a number of different data sources, such as GenBank, GSDB, SWISS-PROT, EMBL, and OMIM, among many others. Some of these data sources are conventional databases implemented using database management systems (DBMSs) and others are structured files maintained in a number of different formats (e.g., ASN.1 and ACE). In addition, software packages such as sequence analysis packages (e.g., BLAST and FASTA) produce data and can therefore be viewed as data sources. To counter the increasing dispersion and heterogeneity of data, different approaches to integrating these data sources are appearing throughout the bioinformatics community. This paper surveys the technical challenges to integration, classifies the approaches, and critiques the available tools and methodologies.

Chromosomes, Artificial, Yeast↗
PubMed1993

On the influence of data source in aggregated data studies: a comparative study of suicide information based on death certificates and judicial files.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to assess the differences in suicide data obtained from different database sources. DESIGN: Death certificate based data on suicidal deaths were compared with the information obtained from the non-natural death investigation files at the Public Prosecutor's Office. SETTING: The study was confined to the time period of 1981-1984 and to the residents of the district of Leuven (Belgium) who died in the district. MAIN RESULTS: Differences were found in the number of suicidal deaths reported as well as in the demographic variables, the distribution of suicide methods, and the place of death. Sixty percent of the records in both databases could be matched for all variables studied (age, gender, civil state, place of death, and suicide method), and another 10% if only place of death was allowed to differ. For 4.5% of the cases in the judicial files and for 8% of the records in the official statistics database no corresponding record from the other data source could be found. Based on simple probability statistics [P(missing record)+P(different information[present)] the possible minimum global information bias could be estimated to range from 7 to 42%. CONCLUSIONS: Different epidemiological pictures of suicide mortality may result from studying different data sources.

Belgium↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The epidemiology of Parkinson's disease in the Republic of Ireland: observations from routine data sources.

Routine data sources can provide clues to the temporal and geographical patterns of Parkinson's disease. Mortality trends show divergent age specific rates, with decreasing mortality for younger age-groups and increasing mortality for older age-groups. Cohort analysis showed a pattern consistent with the hypothesis that Parkinson's disease may have increased after the encephalitis lethargica pandemic. Hospital admission data suggest a rural excess of cases. The interpretation of this finding is complicated by the role of a variety of potential biases. Research is needed to examine urban-rural differences and environmental risk factors.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Corroboration of drug abusers' self-reports through the use of multiple data sources.

Multiple data sources were used to evaluate the validity of 31 drug abusers' self-reports of recent drug use as well as related behaviors occurring 1 year before and 1 year immediately after admission to a drug-free therapeutic community. Interviews were conducted by individuals not associated with the program. At the initial interview subjects provided a breath test for alcohol and a urine sample to test for other recent drug use. Subjects also signed releases of information so that official records could be checked both before and after admission to treatment to document any hospitalizations, arrests, drug treatment facility stays, and driver's license suspensions or revocations. These multiple data checks showed that drug abusers' self-reports of recent alcohol and drug use and of arrests and hospitalizations over a 2-year period are sufficiently valid for use in treatment outcome research. When differences occurred, it was usually due to subjects reporting more events than appeared on the records.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Records as a data source: the case for health visitor records.

Health records as a source of research data are examined. A case study approach is adopted to evaluate the reliability of health visitor records as a data source. It is argued that such records may be a rich source of epidemiological data although their deficiencies should be acknowledged.

Child↗
PubMed1998

Mammography use by elderly women: a methodological comparison of two national data sources.

PURPOSE: Estimates of mammography utilization vary considerably, depending on the data source. Among women aged 65 years and older, recent estimates of annual mammography derived from the 1992 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were 50% higher than estimates from Medicare claims. We investigated possible reasons for the different estimates. METHODS: We identified differences in the populations covered by the two data sources and made appropriate adjustments. Differences due to age were addressed by age restriction and age adjustment. Women in health maintenance organizations were eliminated from the NHIS sample so it more closely resembled the Medicare database, and estimates of mammography utilization by noninstitutionalized women were derived for Medicare to increase comparability with NHIS. By using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey to obtain individual-level comparisons between self-report and claims, we explored potential biases in self-reported data and missing claims. RESULTS: Differences between the sample populations accounted for more than one-fourth of the rate difference. About half of the difference could be attributed to erroneous self-reports, biases in self-reported dates (forward and reverse telescoping) and missing Medicare claims. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the discrepancy between the two data sources can be plausibly explained. However, caution must be used in using either data source alone, or both together, to represent the "true" mammography rate.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Systematic biases in functional status assessment of elderly adults: effects of different data sources.

Measuring functional status using specific instruments is an important part of geriatric assessment. These instruments, however, often rely on data sources different from those with which they were originally validated. To study possible biasing effects of different data sources on functional status scores, we examined scores for two widely used instruments (the Lawton Personal Self-Maintenance Scale, PSMS, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, IADL, Scale) on a group of hospitalized elderly (n = 61) using three different data sources (the patients themselves, the patients' nurses, and significant others). Analysis showed that PSMS scores derived from patients were significantly higher than scores derived from significant others (p less than .025) and that patient-derived IADL scores were significantly higher than both nurse-derived scores (p less than .001) and significant-other-derived scores (p less than .001). We also compared scores for a group of nursing home patients (n = 68) on the Katz Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Scale, using data obtained from patients and their nurses. Again, the patient-derived scores were significantly higher than those from nurses (p less than .001). We conclude that data sources for determining patient functional ability are not interchangeable and that patients may overstate their functional abilities, whereas significant others may understate them, relative to judgments of skilled nursing personnel.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

A framework for evaluation of secondary data sources for epidemiological research.

BACKGROUND: As part of the development in information technology, increasing amounts of health care data are available for epidemiological research. METHODS: In this review, we discuss the following factors affecting the value of secondary data in research: 1) completeness of registration of individuals, 2) the accuracy and degree of completeness of the registered data, 3) the size of the data source, 4) the registration period, 5) data accessibility, availability and cost, 6) data format, and 7) possibilities of linkage with other data sources (record linkage). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The importance of these issues depends on the use of the data and on the problems they have to address. If the evaluation is satisfactory with respect to the above-mentioned factors relevant to the particular study, the data source could be a very cost-effective way of solving the research problem.

Bias↗
PubMed1986

Data sources for penetrating trauma.

Three city data sources (CDSs)--police reports, ambulance reports, and medica examiner (ME) logs--were evaluated for their usefulness in epidemiologic studies of trauma. The CDSs were employed to identify all cases of penetrating injury to the chest and/or abdomen severe enough to require care in a medical institution during 1979 and 1980 in Baltimore city. The percent of cases identified by source was: police, 66.8%; ambulance, 47.9%; ME, 16.6%; police plus ambulance, 89.4%; police plus ME, 82.9%; and ambulance plus ME, 50.1%. Hospital admissions to six study hospitals due to chest and/or abdomen penetrating injury were located and matched to the CDS reports: 89.2% of the hospitalized cases were reported in one or more CDS, and 34.7% of the cases identified by one or more CDS could not be located in the hospital records. Using hospital records as the standard, each source was determined to have the following completeness of case reporting: police, 66.2%; ambulance, 72.9%; and ME, 92.2%. The authors conclude that existing CDSs should be used with caution, and that the usefulness of data from multiple sources far outweighs that from any single source.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed1998

Fetal alcohol syndrome in Alaska, 1977 through 1992: an administrative prevalence derived from multiple data sources.

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome cases and the usefulness of various data sources in surveillance were examined in Alaska to guide prevention and future surveillance efforts. METHODS: Sixteen data sources in Alaska were used to identify children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Medical charts were reviewed to verify cases, and records were reviewed to provide descriptive data. RESULTS: Fetal alcohol syndrome rates varied markedly by birth year and race, with the highest prevalence (4.1 per 1000 live births) found among Alaska Natives born between 1985 and 1988. Screening and referral programs to diagnostic clinics identified 70% of all recorded cases. The intervention program for children 0 to 3 years of age detected 29% of age-appropriate cases, and Medicaid data identified 11% of all cases; birth certificates detected only 9% of the age-appropriate cases. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate a high prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome in Alaska and illustrate that reliance on any one data source would lead to underestimates of the extent of fetal alcohol syndrome in a population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

A compendium of public health data sources.

This paper is a compendium of sources that contain quantitative data on the health of the US population. These data are useful for epidemiology, public health research, and surveillance activities. The data are from vital records, health surveys, surveillance systems, and the US Census. In this compendium, there are 107 sources of data on mortality, morbidity, natality, maternal and child health, health and health care, the Census, and nutrition surveillance. The telephone numbers and contact offices within the federal agencies responsible for these data bases are provided as guides to help researchers obtain this information. These data sources are useful for examining the relations between diet, behavior, exposure, and health, trends in mortality and morbidity for specific diseases, and patterns in food consumption and composition.

Health Surveys↗
PubMed1984

Epidemiological investigations on rheumatoid arthritis in Stockholm. The use of different data sources.

The general aim of the thesis was to see how different data sources available in Stockholm County could be used for epidemiological investigations on rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The specific aims were: to study the mortality among persons with RA and the causes of the postulated high mortality in RA, to study the possible preventive effect of oral contraceptive use on the incidence of RA and to study the quality of the in-patient register with regard to RA. Four sources were used: An epidemiological survey of RA in Stockholm, the in-patient register of Stockholm County, the Stockholm County sample of the national health interview survey and the national cause-of-death register. These data sources were compared and validated against each other and other data collected. The possibilities and limitations in the use of these different sources were assessed in a series of epidemiological investigations of which the main findings were the following: Persons with RA had an increased mortality compared to the general population. This applied to persons with RA identified in a random sample from the general population as well as to persons hospitalized with RA. The excess mortality was particularly high in the hospitalized group. RA was rarely recorded as the cause of death. The mortality was strongly correlated to the severity of the disease, and drug use was not found to be the main cause of the high mortality. There was a slight reduction in incidence of RA among oral contraceptive users compared with non users, particularly for women with age at onset of RA over 40. At least 80% of the cases recorded as RA in the in-patient register were judged to be "true" cases of RA. The documentation of the cases as well as the accuracy of the diagnosis varied strongly between different types of departments.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed2025

miss-SNF: a multimodal patient similarity network integration approach to handle completely missing data sources.

MOTIVATION: Precision medicine leverages patient-specific multimodal data to improve prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of diseases. Advancing precision medicine requires the non-trivial integration of complex, heterogeneous, and potentially high-dimensional data sources, such as multi-omics and clinical data. In the literature, several approaches have been proposed to manage missing data, but are usually limited to the recovery of subsets of features for a subset of patients. A largely overlooked problem is the integration of multiple sources of data when one or more of them are completely missing for a subset of patients, a relatively common condition in clinical practice. RESULTS: We propose miss-Similarity Network Fusion (miss-SNF), a novel general-purpose data integration approach designed to manage completely missing data in the context of patient similarity networks. miss-SNF integrates incomplete unimodal patient similarity networks by leveraging a non-linear message-passing strategy borrowed from the SNF algorithm. miss-SNF is able to recover missing patient similarities and is "task agnostic", in the sense that can integrate partial data for both unsupervised and supervised prediction tasks. Experimental analyses on nine cancer datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) demonstrate that miss-SNF achieves state-of-the-art results in recovering similarities and in identifying patients subgroups enriched in clinically relevant variables and having differential survival. Moreover, amputation experiments show that miss-SNF supervised prediction of cancer clinical outcomes and Alzheimer's disease diagnosis with completely missing data achieves results comparable to those obtained when all the data are available. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: miss-SNF code, implemented in R, is available at https://github.com/AnacletoLAB/missSNF.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

Data sources for pharmacoeconomic and health services research.

Different types of databases available for health-related research, the data contained in these databases, and potential applications for pharmacists or researchers are discussed. Case studies that demonstrate uses for health databases are presented. Databases can be organized by facility, by health care provider, by disease or organ, or by sector. The types of data they contain include financial data, utilization data, demographic data, and outcomes data. Data can be obtained from the public sector, the private sector, or the researcher's own health system. The costs and time associated with using existing databases are often less than those required to collect data, but the quality and accessibility of the data must also be considered. The researcher's choice of database will depend on the research question. Health care databases can be used for health management and decision-making, quality review and evaluation, outcomes research, episode-of-illness studies, and evaluation of treatment protocols. Researchers must comply with patient-confidentiality and other agreements when accessing data. The format of the data needs to be matched with the hardware and software to be used in the analysis, and the data need to be loaded, verified, and cleaned before use. In deciding which of the many available data sources to use, researchers must determine the appropriate balance between external data and data available within their own health systems. The decision on whether to use existing data sources or to collect data prospectively will depend on the research question, the available resources, and the scope of the study.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1997

Differences in procedure use, in-hospital mortality, and illness severity by gender for acute myocardial infarction patients: are answers affected by data source and severity measure?

OBJECTIVES: According to some studies, women with heart disease receive fewer procedures and have higher in-hospital death rates than men. These studies vary by data source (hospital discharge abstract versus detailed clinical information) and severity measurement methods. The authors examined whether evaluations of gender differences for acute myocardial infarction patients vary by data source and severity measure. METHODS: The authors considered 10 severity measures: four using clinical medical record data and six using discharge abstracts (diagnosis and procedure codes). The authors studied all 14,083 patients admitted in 1991 for acute myocardial infarction to 100 hospitals nationwide, examining in-hospital death and use of coronary angiography, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios for death and procedure use for women compared with men, controlling for age and each of the severity scores. RESULTS: After adjusting only for age, women were significantly more likely than men to die and less likely to receive CABG and coronary angiography. Severity measures provided different assessments of whether women were sicker than men; for all cases, clinical data-based MedisGroups rated women's severity compared with men's, whereas four code-based severity measures viewed women as sicker. After adjusting for severity and age, women were significantly more likely than men to die in-hospital and less likely to receive coronary angiography and CABG; women and men had relatively equal adjusted odds ratios of receiving PTCA. Odds ratios reflecting gender differences in procedure use and death rates were similar across severity measures. CONCLUSIONS: Comparisons of severity-adjusted in-hospital death rates and invasive procedure use between men and women yielded similar findings regardless of data source and severity measure.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Homicide in the workplace in Ontario: occupations at risk and limitations of existing data sources.

This study has identified workplace homicides in Ontario from 1975 to 1985, described those at risk, and examined what existing data sources are most suitable for locating the occurrence of these events. Homicides were identified from two sources: the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Ontario Mortality Database (OMDB). Of the 84 homicides identified, 87% occurred among males; the average annual work-related homicide rate was 0.17 per 100,000 workers, with a male-to-female ratio of 5.2:1. The rates in males were about one-eighth of those reported in California and Texas. The highest rates occurred among policemen, gas station attendants, security guards, and taxi drivers, and in restaurants and in certain retail operations such as jewelry stores. These homicides represented about 4% of all traumatic workplace fatalities. Firearms were responsible for 56% of these homicides and the motive was robbery in 50%. The OMDB proved to be an awkward source from which to identify such deaths because there is no "injury-at-work" field on death certificates. Other existing sources of data were not able to locate work-related homicides. Guidelines to protect those at high risk of assault and homicide should be developed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Obtaining access to data sources: an exploration of method, problems and possible solutions.

A method, route and problems relating to the gaining of access to research data or respondents is discussed. In seeking permission to gather data from patients and staff in Scottish psychiatric hospitals, using Flanagan's Critical Incident Technique, a number of problems were encountered, viz. (i) the varying admnistrative levels to which the first formal request for entry had to be made; (ii) the varying routes which had to be followed in order to gain permission, and (iii) the time taken to obtain access to data sources. The problems, their possible consequences, and a number of long and short term recommendations are made. If implemented, these may go some way toward minimizing the difficulties associated with gaining access to data sources. The long term recommendations, including improved nurse representation on existing research and ethical committees, are directed to those who shape and influence policies relating to research practice generally. The short term recommendations are directed to the nurse researcher who is seeking access to field sites, with a view to minimizing problems relating to this aspect of planning and carrying out research activity.

Confidentiality↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An assessment of potential injury surveillance data sources in Alaska using an emerging problem: all-terrain vehicle-associated injuries.

Using injuries associated with three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles in Alaska as an example, the existing injury data bases were assessed for usefulness, cost, simplicity, acceptability, flexibility, sensitivity, specificity, representativeness, and timeliness. In this study strengths and weaknesses of existing data for all-terrain vehicles were identified and ways to improve data collection and linkages across data systems are suggested. Based on this evaluation, linked death certificates and medical examiner data provide an excellent mechanism for monitoring vehicle-related fatalities. Information sources for nonfatal and nonvehicle-related injuries require further development. Police records provide supplemental information, but they are limited to the events reported to police. Although other sources were explored, they added no advantage to the primary sources. Data processing, analysis, and dissemination--traditional responsibilities for public health and other governmental agencies--can transform these data sources into meaningful mechanisms to define injury trends and monitor injury-specific intervention strategies.

Alaska↗