Korean J Occup Environ Med.  1994 Sep;6(2):270-275.

A Study of the Utility of Mahalanobis Distance for Decision of the Results of Health Examination

• Cho BM
• Kim DK

Abstract

In the field of industrial health, it is important to establish the efficient system for health management of workers. The management of health information of workers using data base will contribute to such a system. In this context, the utility of method using Mahalanobis distance(D(2)), the general probability distance in multivariate analysis, for decision of the results of health examination was evaluated. Six items of test among the health examination data of 278 prospective employee was used to calculate D(2). Sensitively and specificity of decision method using D(2) with 99% normal range was 95.8% and 90.2% respectively as compared with decision by doctor. This finding suggests the utility of method using D2 for decision of the results of mass screening for industrial workers.

Keyword

Efficient system; Mahalanobis distance; Mass screening

MeSH Terms

Mass Screening
Multivariate Analysis
Occupational Health
Reference Values
Sensitivity and Specificity