Introduction to Epidemiology 6th Edition by Ray M Merrill

Exercise 3

TABLE 1 Female Crude Malignant First Primary Breast Cancer Incidence Rates in San Francisco and the Metropolitan Areas of Detroit and Atlanta According to Selected Racial Groups, 2006–2008

	White	Black	Other
Location	Rate per 100,000	Rate per 100,000	Rate per 100,000
San Francisco	162.6	128.6	112.0
Detroit (metropolitan)	146.4	116.8	50.2
Atlanta (metropolitan)	124.6	98.2	56.0
Three areas combined	146.8	109.5	94.0

Data from Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute. SEER*Stat software Version 6.4.4. Available at: http:///www.seer.cancer.gov/seerstat.Accessed January 10, 2012.

Would age-adjusted rates be more appropriate for comparing the risk of female breast cancer among geographic areas and racial groups? Explain.

Step 1 of 2

A rate refers to a type of frequency measurement in which the numerator involves nominal data that specifically represent the absence or presence of a health-related event or entity. It also incorporates the previous time-dimension that occurs as a proportion of representing the number of events, disease states, conditions and behaviors in a population over a specific period of time.