| This analytic data file set consists of one file generated for a matched pair case-control study examining ill-defined causes of death of white males at the three Oak Ridge facilities by Donna Cragle, et al., published in the American Journal of Public Health in 1992. |
| This study determined the association between various factors and a recorded ill-defined cause of death. A matched pair case- control study was conducted, with one control per case and within an occupational cohort of workers at three Oak Ridge facilities (Y-12 and K-25 Plants and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory). The study found a strong association between the ill-defined classification given as a cause of death and particular certifiers, especially if the certifier was a medical examiner. Results from other cohort mortality studies of workers at the Oak Ridge facilities have indicated unusual increases in the rate of deaths due to unexplained or unspecified causes. In this study, the SMR for deaths coded to these categories was 3.05 (338 observed versus 110.92 expected). |
| The single analytic file in this data file set, ORMULA03_d1, contains 1,216 records, one for each case and each matched control. The file contains demographic, work history, and cause-of-death data, plus codes for the different certifiers. Each individual in this cohort must have worked for more than 30 days at any Oak Ridge facility between 1943 and 1982 and must have died between 1945 and 1982. Death certificates were obtained for 608 cases in which deaths were due to unexplained or unspecified causes. Based on cause of death and matching birth and death dates within 2 years (plus or minus), a control was selected for each case. The control also had to work at the same facility as the case. |
| Considerable data, in addition to cause of death, were abstracted from death certificates obtained for all 1,216 cases and controls. |
| Personal or environmental radiation monitoring data were not used in this study. |
