Key Methodological Papers about the REP

History of the REP

• Rocca WA, Yawn BP, St Sauver JL, Grossardt BR, Melton LJ.  History of the Rochester Epidemiology Project: Half a Century of Medical Records Linkage in a US Population. Mayo Clin Proc. 2012 Nov 8. PMID: 23199802 (PubMed)
  • This manuscript provides an overview of how the REP was established and how it has evolved since 1966.  If the number of references is limited, we recommend citing this paper as it’s a very good general REP reference to use.
• Melton LJ3rd, Rocca WA, Roger VL. Development of Population Research at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clin Proc. 2014 Feb; ;89(2):e17-e20.
  • Similar to the previous paper, this manuscript provides a general history of how the REP was established and has grown.
• Melton LJ 3rd. History of the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Mayo Clin Proc. 1996 Mar;71(3):266-74. PMID: 8594285 (PubMed)
  • This manuscript provides a history of the REP from the early 1900s through 1996, and a sample of types of studies that have made use of the REP infrastructure.
• Kurland LT, Molgaard CA. The patient record in epidemiology. SciAm. 1981 Oct;245(4):54-63. PMID: 7027437 (PubMed)
  • This manuscript provides a history of the REP from the early 1900s through 1981, with a detailed description of coding systems used during that time frame, and a description of some of the early REP studies.

• Rocca, W.A., Grossardt, B.R., Brue, S.M., Bock-Goodner, C.M., Chamberlain, A.M., Wilson, P.M., Finney Rutten, L.J., St Sauver, J.L. Data Resource Profile: Expansion of the Rochester Epidemiology Project medical records-linkage system (E-REP). International Journal of Epidemiology 2018 Apr;47(2):368-368j. PMCID: PMC5913632. (PubMed)
  • This manuscript describes the expansion of the medical records-linkage system of the REP to include health care information for approximately 700,000 persons residing in a 27-county region of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.  This expansion will allow for the studies of rarer diseases (e.g., ovarian cancer) and of specific subgroups of the population (e.g., men 80-90 years old).
• St Sauver JL, Grossardt BR, Yawn BP, Melton LJ 3rd, Pankratz JJ, Brue SM, Rocca WA. Data Resource Profile: The Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) medical records-linkage system. Int J Epidemiol. 2012 Nov 18. PMID: 23159830 (PubMed)
  • This manuscript provides more specific details about the REP and the Olmsted County population, including details about follow-up and frequency of health care contact in the population, details about the status of MN research authorization in 2010, and autopsy data.
• St Sauver JL, Grossardt BR, Yawn BP, Melton LJ 3rd, Rocca WA. Use of a medical records linkage system to enumerate a dynamic population over time: the Rochester epidemiology project. Am J Epidemiol. 2011 May 1;173(9):1059-68. PMID: 21430193 (PubMed)
  • This manuscript provides detailed information about how medical records are linked to individuals, and how the REP Census was constructed.  This manuscript also contains information about the proportion of the Olmsted County population captured by the REP, and information on mortality rates in Olmsted County compared to national statistics.

Generalizability

• St Sauver JL, Grossardt BR, Leibson CL, Yawn BP, Melton LJ 3rd, Rocca WA. Generalizability of epidemiological findings and public health decisions: an illustration from the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Mayo Clin Proc. 2012 Feb;87(2):151-60. PMID: 22305027 (PubMed)
  • This manuscript provides information about how the characteristics of the Olmsted County population compare to the characteristics of the populations in the rest of MN, the upper Midwest, and the entire US.  It’s a good reference to use when describing the generalizability of REP findings.

• Yawn BP, Yawn RA, Geier GR, Xia Z, Jacobsen SJ. The impact of requiring patient authorization for use of data in medical records research. J Fam Pract. 1998 Nov;47(5):361-5. PMID: 9834771 (PubMed)
  • This manuscript provides a description of the number and proportion of patients in different age and sex categories at Olmsted Medical Center who agreed or did not agree to MN research authorization shortly after this law was implemented in 1997.
• Jacobsen SJ, Xia Z, Campion ME, Darby CH, Plevak MF, Seltman KD, Melton LJ 3rd. Potential effect of authorization bias on medical record research. Mayo Clin Proc. 1999 Apr;74(4):330-8. PMID: 10221460 (PubMed)
  • This manuscript provides a description of the number and proportion of patients in different age and sex categories at Mayo Clinic who agreed or did not agree to MN research authorization shortly after this law was implemented in 1997.