Creation of Attribute Combination Databases

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

a) accessing a query attribute;

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

c) selecting a query-attribute-positive individual;

d) storing attributes associated with the query-attribute-positive individual that are not associated with a portion of the query-attribute-negative individuals, to create a set of candidate attributes; and

e) storing combinations of the candidate attributes and frequencies of occurrence of those combinations for the query-attribute-positive individuals and 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:

f) 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:

f) repeating steps (c)-(e) for successive query-attribute-positive individuals.

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

f) repeating steps (a)-(e) for a succession of query attributes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

f) repeating steps (c)-(e) for successive query-attribute-positive individuals;

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

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

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

j) repeating steps (a)-(i) for a succession of query attributes; and

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

11 . The computer based method of claim 8 , 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.

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

14 . 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.

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

16 . 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 databases containing attributes associated with query-attribute-positive and attributes associated with query-attribute-negative individuals;

c) a data processing subsystem comprising:

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;

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

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.

17 . The computer based system of claim 16 , 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.

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

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

19 . The computer based system of claim 16 , further comprising a communications subsystem for:

i) a receiving subsystem for receiving at least some attributes from at least one external database; and

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