Non-Differential Misclassification

In an article by Jurek et al (2005), the authors state:

“Many investigators write as if non-differential exposure misclassification inevitably leads to a reduction in the strength of an estimated exposure–disease association. Unfortunately, non-differentiality alone is insufficient to guarantee bias towards the null. Furthermore, because bias refers to the average estimate across study repetitions rather than the result of a single study, bias towards the null is insufficient to guarantee that an observed estimate will be an underestimate. Thus, as noted before, exposure misclassification can spuriously increase the observed strength of an association even when the misclassification process is non-differential and the bias it produced is towards the null.”

Jurek, A., Greenland, S., Maldonado, G., Church, T. (2005). Proper interpretation of non-differential misclassification effects: expectations vs observations. International Journal of Epidemiology, 34(3). Retrieved from http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/3/680.full.

What effect does non-differential exposure misclassification have on studies?

Do you agree with these authors that it does not necessarily bias towards the null or do you agree with other investigators that it reduces the strength of an association? Why?

 
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