In reply:  Serial correlation and confounders in time-series air pollution studies

Johnston, Fay H; Kavanagh, Anne; Bowman, David MJS; Scott, Randall K

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04854.x

Topics

Statistics, epidemiology and research design

In reply: Jalaludin and colleagues query the potential effects that serial correlation and confounding by school holiday time periods may have had on our finding of an association between particulates derived from bushfire smoke and asthma presentations.1

Correspondence: fjohns@tedgp.org.au

1. Johnston FH, Kavanagh AM, Bowman DMJS, Scott RK. Exposure to bushfire smoke and asthma: an ecological study. Med J Aust 2002; 176: 535-538. <eMJA full text>
2. Schwarz J, Spix C, Touloumi G, et al. Methodological issues in studies of air pollution and daily counts of deaths or hospital admissions. J Epidemiol Community Health 1996; 50: S3-S11.
3. Gill AM, Moore PHR, Williams RJ. Fire weather in the wet dry tropics of the World Heratige Kakadu National Park, Australia. Aust J Ecology 1996; 21: 302-308.
4. Lumley T. Statistical training for epidemiologists: a view from afar. Australas Epidemiologist 2001; 8(4): 5-7.
5. Storr J, Lenney W. School holidays and admissions with asthma. Arch Dis Child 1989; 64: 103-107.

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