Creation of Attribute Combination Databases

1 . A computer based method for compiling attribute combinations, comprising:

a) accessing a query attribute;

b) accessing attributes of query-attribute-positive individuals and query-attribute-negative individuals; and

c) storing those combinations of attributes that have higher frequencies of occurrence for the query-attribute-positive individuals than for the query-attribute-negative individuals, to create a compilation of attribute combinations that co-occur with the query attribute.

2 . The computer based method of claim 1 , further comprising:

d) storing statistical results that are based on the frequencies of occurrence and indicate strength of association of each combination with the query attribute.

3 . The computer based method of claim 1 , further comprising:

d) repeating steps (a)-(c) for a succession of query attributes.

4 . The computer based method of claim 1 , further comprising:

d) eliminating attribute combinations from the compilation based on the frequencies of occurrence.

5 . The computer based method of claim 1 , further comprising:

d) ranking the attribute combinations based on the frequencies of occurrence.

6 . The computer based method of claim 2 , further comprising:

e) ranking the attribute combinations based on the statistical results.

7 . The computer based method of claim 2 , further comprising:

e) eliminating attribute combinations from the compilation that do not meet one or more statistical requirements.

8 . The computer based method of claim 1 , further comprising:

d) transmitting one or more attributes, attribute combinations, frequencies of occurrence as output.

9 . The computer based method of claim 1 , further comprising:

d) storing statistical results that are based on the frequencies of occurrence and indicate strength of association of each combination with the query attribute;

e) eliminating attribute combinations from the compilation that do not meet one or more statistical requirements;

f) ranking the attribute combinations based on the statistical results;

g) repeating steps (a)-(f) for a succession of query attributes; and

h) transmitting one or more attributes, attribute combinations, frequencies of occurrence and statistical results as output.

10 . The computer based method of claim 1 , wherein the query attribute can be a query attribute combination consisting of two or more attributes.

11 . The computer based method of claim 1 , wherein the query-attribute-positive individuals and the query-attribute-negative individuals constitute a population or subpopulation that is preselected based on having an association with one or more attributes.

12 . The computer based method of claim 7 , wherein the one or more statistical requirements are selected from the group consisting of: greater than a minimum statistical value, less than a maximum statistical value, and statistical significance.

13 . The computer based method of claim 9 , wherein the one or more statistical requirements are selected from the group consisting of: greater than a minimum statistical value, less than a maximum statistical value, and statistical significance.

14 . The computer based method of claim 1 , wherein the identity of one or more individuals is masked or anonymized.

15 . A computer based system for compiling attribute combinations, comprising:

a) a first data accessing subsystem for accessing a query attribute;

b) a second data accessing subsystem for accessing attributes associated with query-attribute-positive individuals and attributes associated with query-attribute-negative individuals; and

c) a data processing subsystem for identifying attribute combinations that are more frequently associated with query-attribute-positive individuals than with query-attribute-negative individuals.

16 . The computer based system of claim 15 , wherein the data processing subsystem comprises:

i) a data comparison subsystem for identifying attributes associated with the query-attribute-positive individual that are not associated with a portion of the query-attribute-negative individuals; and

ii) a statistical computing subsystem for calculating frequencies of occurrence of attribute combinations and statistical results indicating their strength of association with query attributes.

17 . The system of claim 16 , further comprising:

d) a data storage subsystem for storing one or more attributes, attribute combinations, frequencies of occurrence, statistical results and individual identifiers, to create a compilation of attribute combinations that co-occur with the query attribute.

18 . The computer based system of claim 17 , further comprising:

e) a communications subsystem for:

i) retrieving or receiving at least some attributes from at least one external database; and

ii) transmitting one or more attributes, attribute combinations, frequencies of occurrence and statistical results as output.

19 . The computer based system of claim 18 , wherein the data processing subsystem further comprises:

iii) an attribute elimination subsystem for eliminating attribute combinations from the compilation based on their frequencies of occurrence or the statistical results.

20 . The computer based system of claim 19 , wherein the data processing subsystem further comprises:

iv) a data ranking subsystem for ranking the attribute combinations based on the statistical results.