Mapping of Relative Risk

Environmental security involves the geo-referenced assessment of health risks. A straightforward estimation of relative risks can be based on aggregated health data, which are often routinely collected in administrative districts and, therefore, cheap and easily available. Disease maps based on raw data can be misleading, however. The value of the maps can be improved by applying a statistical model that, firstly, accounts for the spatial autocorrelation and, secondly, admits the inclusion of exposure data (e.g. from monitoring networks). A third important task is the inclusion of socioeconomic and further individual-specific confounders.