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. 2011 Sep-Oct;126 Suppl 3(Suppl 3):70-80.
doi: 10.1177/00333549111260S312.

Identifying the impact of social determinants of health on disease rates using correlation analysis of area-based summary information

Ruiguang Song  1 , H Irene Hall, Kathleen McDavid Harrison, Tanya Telfair Sharpe, Lillian S Lin, Hazel D Dean
Affiliations

Identifying the impact of social determinants of health on disease rates using correlation analysis of area-based summary information

Ruiguang Song et al. Public Health Rep. 2011 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: We developed a statistical tool that brings together standard, accessible, and well-understood analytic approaches and uses area-based information and other publicly available data to identify social determinants of health (SDH) that significantly affect the morbidity of a specific disease.

Methods: We specified AIDS as the disease of interest and used data from the American Community Survey and the National HIV Surveillance System. Morbidity and socioeconomic variables in the two data systems were linked through geographic areas that can be identified in both systems. Correlation and partial correlation coefficients were used to measure the impact of socioeconomic factors on AIDS diagnosis rates in certain geographic areas.

Results: We developed an easily explained approach that can be used by a data analyst with access to publicly available datasets and standard statistical software to identify the impact of SDH. We found that the AIDS diagnosis rate was highly correlated with the distribution of race/ethnicity, population density, and marital status in an area. The impact of poverty, education level, and unemployment depended on other SDH variables.

Conclusions: Area-based measures of socioeconomic variables can be used to identify risk factors associated with a disease of interest. When correlation analysis is used to identify risk factors, potential confounding from other variables must be taken into account.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Histograms and scatter plots of the AIDS diagnosis rate and demographic and SDH variables: National HIV Surveillance System and American Community Survey data, 2006–2008a
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Histograms and scatter plots of the AIDS diagnosis rate and demographic and SDH variables: National HIV Surveillance System and American Community Survey data, 2006–2008a
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Strength of correlations and potential causal relationships among demographic and SDH variables and the AIDS diagnosis rate using multidimensional scaling: National HIV Surveillance System and American Community Survey data, 2006–2008a
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