case2002: Birdkeeping and Lung Cancer
Description
A 1972--1981 health survey in The Hague, Netherlands, discovered an
association between keeping pet birds and increased risk of lung
cancer. To investigate birdkeeping as a risk factor, researchers
conducted a case--control study of patients in 1985 at four
hospitals in The Hague (population 450,000). They identified 49 cases
of lung cancer among the patients who were registered with a general
practice, who were age 65 or younger and who had resided in the city
since 1965. They also selected 98 controls from a population of
residents having the same general age structure.source
Ramsey, F.L. and Schafer, D.W. (2002). The Statistical Sleuth: A
Course in Methods of Data Analysis (2nd ed), Duxbury.References
Holst, P.A., Kromhout, D. and Brand, R. (1988). For Debate: Pet Birds
as an Independent Risk Factor for Lung Cancer, British Medical
Journal 297: 13--21.