A recently published meta-analysis on the prevalence of interstitial lung disease in elderly patients with a history of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is discussed at a geriatric medicine conference that you attend. The speaker suggests that there may be a publication bias affecting the results.
What statistical method, graph or examination would be the most effective in exploring the speaker’s hypothesis?
A test that seems to assess its intended purpose upon initial examination is referred to as having which of the following qualities?
A 62-year-old man, whose wife had a TIA one month ago, shows you a newspaper article titled ‘new super drug prevents stroke’. As you read through the article together, it states that a recent clinical trial has revealed a lipid-lowering therapy for stroke with a number needed to treat (NNT) of 20 for the prevention of the primary end-point. How would you explain these findings to him?
A 45-year-old woman has been diagnosed with breast cancer after a lesion was detected during a routine mammogram as part of the NHS Breast Screening program. What are the optimal features of a screening test?
A study is designed to compare the cholesterol levels of males and females who have hypertension. The researchers aim to determine if there is a significant difference between the mean cholesterol level in males and females. It is known from previous studies that the cholesterol levels follow a normal distribution. Which statistical test would be the most suitable to use?
Which of the following is a form of qualitative research that depicts the customs of a community?
When two medical conditions are related through the presence of a confounding factor, the association is said to be:
A clinical trial is being conducted to assess the effectiveness of a new drug in reducing blood pressure in patients with hypertension. The null hypothesis states there is no difference between the new drug and placebo in reducing blood pressure.
After collecting the appropriate data, statistical analyses are conducted and the researcher wants to quantify if the observed difference may have occurred just by chance. He calculates this probability assuming the null hypothesis is correct.
What is this known as?
A study was conducted to investigate whether individuals with lower socioeconomic status were at a higher risk of developing gastric cancer. The study tracked participants for 35 years and discovered that those with lower socioeconomic status had a significantly greater likelihood of developing gastric cancer. The researchers concluded that there was a strong correlation between lower socioeconomic status and gastric cancer development. However, an independent committee reviewing the study later discovered that individuals with lower socioeconomic status were also more likely to smoke.
What type of potential bias is likely to be present in this study design?
You review a study measuring a patient’s age against their diastolic blood pressure. The data is normally distributed and you wish to determine the degree of correlation between these two factors.
What is the most appropriate significance test for this study?