The decennial census offers high‐quality geographic and demographic information to various stakeholders. Differential privacy (DP) refers to the process of introducing random error into public facing data products such as the decennial census. Studies suggest DP may statistically bias health indicators. This study evaluates neighborhood‐level (census tract) life expectancy (LE), highlighting the potential trade‐offs between privacy‐preserving methods and detecting health disparities in vulnerable populations. LE was calculated using mortality records from Florida between 2009 and 2013 across 4175 census tracts. This study compared US Census Bureau demonstration products with/without DP for two different uncertainty levels (ϵ) = 4, (ϵ) = 29.2. LE estimates were defined as biased (greater than 3 years), and then temporarily replaced with a value to indicate a biased/missing LE value (e.g., ‘1′). Correlation coefficients compared LE calculated from the original (non‐DP) age‐specific population estimates and the DP age‐specific population counts. Next, the study examined the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the biased DP LE estimates. Factors significantly correlated with increased log‐odds of biased LE estimates included the % Black population (1.03, p < 0.001). Conversely, total population (0.21, p < 0.001), % female‐headed households (0.86, p < 0.001), and % population 25+ years with no high school diploma (0.94, p < 0.001) exhibited significant negative associations with biased LE estimates. Future studies should consider the additional uncertainty created by DP when assessing public health interventions and tracking population health over time.

中文翻译：

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评估小区域差异隐私预期寿命


十年一次的人口普查为各利益相关者提供了高质量的地理和人口信息。差分隐私（DP）是指将随机误差引入面向公众的数据产品（例如十年一次的人口普查）的过程。研究表明，DP 可能会对健康指标产生统计偏差。这项研究评估了社区层面（人口普查区）的预期寿命（LE），强调了隐私保护方法和检测弱势群体健康差异之间的潜在权衡。 LE 是根据 2009 年至 2013 年佛罗里达州 4175 个人口普查区的死亡率记录计算得出的。本研究比较了美国人口普查局的示范产品有/没有 DP 的两个不同的不确定性水平 (ϵ) = 4, (ϵ) = 29.2。 LE 估计被定义为有偏差（大于 3 年），然后暂时替换为指示有偏差/缺失 LE 值的值（例如“1”）。相关系数比较了根据原始（非 DP）特定年龄人口估计值计算出的 LE 与 DP 特定年龄人口计数。接下来，该研究检查了有偏差的 DP LE 估计的人口和社会经济特征。与 LE 估计偏差的对数比值增加显着相关的因素包括黑人人口百分比 (1.03, p < 0.001)。相反，总人口（0.21，p < 0.001）、女性户主家庭百分比（0.86，p < 0.001）和25岁以上没有高中文凭的人口百分比（0.94，p < 0.001）表现出显着的负相关LE 估计有偏差。未来的研究在评估公共卫生干预措施和跟踪一段时间内的人口健康状况时，应考虑 DP 带来的额外不确定性。