Document Z4mrLM27OZLYorxdvND7orxRY

1 A I'm not surprised at that. Page 221 2 Q Okay. What are some of the ways that you 3 judge the quality of an epidemiological study? 4 A Well, what do I consider? 5 Q Yeah, Dr. Paustenbach, what are some of the 6 ways you, Dr. Paustenbach, judge the quality of an 7 epidemiological study? 8 A I look at the journal it's in right away. 9 There are certain journals that are more rigorous than 10 others with respect to the threshold as to whether they 11 are considered good or average quality studies. I 12 looked at the size of the cohort, the exposure 13 information, the length of time that the study, the 14 people in the study were evaluated. 15 I look to see if they are using qualitative or 16 quantitative descriptions of exposure. I look to see 17 if the results are consistent or inconsistent with 18 other people who have studied the same issue. I like 19 to see if there is confounding variables, especially in 20 the kind of work that I do. 21 I want to see if there are alternate sources of 22 exposure to that same chemical versus the occupation 23 being evaluated. I like to look at the statistical 24 strength of the results, and I'm particularly 25 interested in the size of the background that is ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SERVICES (415) 288-4280