Applying Quantitative Bias Analysis to Epidemiologic Data Lash Timothy L.

Bias analysis quantifies the influence of systematic error on an epidemiology study's estimate of association. More recent advances in bias analysis, such as probabilistic bias analysis, appear even more rarely. The fundamental methods of bias analysis in epi- miology have been well described for decades, yet are seldom applied in published presentations of epidemiologic research.

On the demand side, journal reviewers and editors seldom request that authors address systematic error aside from listing them as limitations of their particular study. We suspect that there are both supply-side and demand-side explanations for the scarcity of bias analysis. This listing is often accompanied by explanations for why the limitations should not pose much concern.

On the supply side, methods for bias analysis receive little attention in most epidemiology curriculums, are often scattered throughout