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Table 6 Increased health symptom frequency for mail and Web survey respondents

From: Self-reported data in environmental health studies: mail vs. web-based surveys

Health Symptoms

% Mail a

% Web a

Crude OR [95%CI] b,c

Adj. OR [95%CI] c,d

Nose irritation

22.0

19.6

1.20 [0.85–1.69]

1.28 [0.89–1.85]

Blocked nose

25.8

24.0

1.15 [0.83–1.58]

1.39 [0.98–1.96]*

Runny nose

32.1

33.1

1.00 [0.75–1.34]

1.17 [0.85–1.60]

Chest wheezing

9.4

9.1

1.07 [0.66–1.72]

1.19 [0.71–2.01]

Breathing problems

7.5

5.1

1.55 [0.85–2.83]

1.56 [0.81–2.99]

Eyes irritation

31.2

23.6

1.53 [1.12–2.11]**

1.46 [1.04–2.05]**

Cough

27.9

20.4

1.58 [1.14–2.21]**

1.68 [1.17–2.40]**

Throat Irritation

18.8

17.5

1.14 [0.80–1.63]

1.40 [0.95–2.06]*

Hoarseness

9.2

5.8

1.70 [0.97–2.98]*

2.00 [1.09–3.69]**

Bodily pain

34.9

30.2

1.30 [0.97–1.75]*

1.36 [0.98–1.87]*

  1. a Indicates the percentage of mail and Web survey respondents that have reported “increased frequency” occurrence of each health symptom
  2. b Indicates the odds that mail survey respondents reported increased symptom frequency in comparison to Web survey respondents
  3. c *p < 0.1; **p < 0.05
  4. d Indicates the odds that mail survey respondents reported increased symptom frequency in comparison to Web survey respondents, after controlling for age, sex, education, region where the individual lives (i.e. Anholt, Lindet, Keldsnor and Sundeved), smoking status, childhood living environment, presence of children at home, period spent outside home and job situation