Record linking and genetic analysis of Utah death certificates

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Title Record linking and genetic analysis of Utah death certificates
Publication Type dissertation
School or College School of Medicine
Department Biomedical Informatics
Author Rowe, Kerry Gene
Date 1996-12
Description This research examined the process of probabilistic record linking and the study of familiality for common causes of death. Genealogical records from the Utah Population Database (UPDB) were linked with records from the Utah Cancer Registry and death certificates from the state of Utah. Record linking was done with commercial record linking software from Matchware Technologies called Automatch. The cancer records linked by Automatch were compared to previous linking results to test the effectiveness of the software. The record linking methods established in this linking process were applied to the death certificates. Death certificate records from 1957 through 1992 were linked to the genealogy records; 126,085 (45%) death certificates were linked. The linked records were grouped by cause of death into the 61 most common causes of death. The familial predisposition of the common causes of death was studied using two different methods. The first method used the Genealogical Index of Familiality (GIF). The GIF uses the kinship coefficient to measure the degree of relationship between all pairs of individuals in the cause of death groups. The GIF was calculated for each cause of death group along with 100 sets of matching controls. The control mean was compared to the GIF value for the cause of death. Results of the GIF showed substantial familiality for a number of causes of death including kidney cancer, aneurysm, and prostate cancer. The second method used to examine familiality calculated a first-degree relative risk for the cause of death groups. An expected value for each cause of death was calculated using the resources of the UPDB and compared to the rate of each cause of death among first-degree relatives. A high first-degree relative risk was seen for a number of causes of death including alcohol related deaths, ovarian cancer, and lung cancer. The record linking software performed well and helped to combine the different data sets successfully. The linked death certificate records provided a large data set to use in the study of familiality for common causes of death.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Medical record linkage - Utah; Medical genetics - Utah; Death - Proof and certification - Utah
Subject MESH Medical Record Linkage; Genetics, Medical; Death Certificates
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name PhD
Language eng
Relation is Version of Digital reproduction of "Record linking and genetic analysis of Utah death certificates." Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library. Print version of "Record linking and genetic analysis of Utah death certificates." available at J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collection, R117.5 1996 .R69.
Rights Management © Kerry Gene Rowe.
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 4,848,470 bytes
Identifier undthes,4847
Source Original: University of Utah Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library (no longer available).
Funding/Fellowship NIh grant number CA-64477, Pedigree and Population Research Resource, a core institute of the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Universtiy of Utah and Huntsman Cancer Institue at the University of Utah.
Master File Extent 4,848,532 bytes
ARK ark:/87278/s6rj4m9v
Setname ir_etd
ID 191228
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6rj4m9v
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