S2 Measurement and Study Designs Flashcards
What is the purpose of statistics?
To generalise to/infer about the population
How do we making inferences about the entire population?
Take a sample which is representative, unbiased and precise
What are the two types of error that can occur in a study that may influence results?
- Chance/random error - due to sampling variation, will reduce as sample size increases
- Bias/systematic error - difference between the true value and the expected value, doesn’t reduce as sample size increase
What are sources of bias?
- Selection bias
2. Information bias
What are some types of selection bias?
- Study sample not representative of whole population of interest
- Group selection within a study - groups in a study not comparable
- Healthy worker effect - people who work have a lower overall mortality than the general population
What are some types of information bias?
- Recall error - differences in recollection
- Observer/interviewer error - preconceived expectations/knowledge
- Measurement error - differences in measurement
- Misclassification - participants put into wrong group usually arises from observational or measurement error
What is prevalence?
The proportion of people who have a disease at a given point in time
Often reported as a proportion
What is incidence?
The number of new cases of a disease within a given timeframe
Often reported as a rate
When is someone no longer counted in prevalence?
If they die or are cured
If they are cured and have a regression, they are classed as a new case (incidence)
What is the incidence rate ratio?
Compares the incidence rate in one group to another
It is a relative measure between two groups (or more groups)
How do you calculate incidence rate ratio?
IRR = incidence rate in group A / incidence rate in group B
How do you calculate incidence rate?
Incidence rate = number of new cases / (sum of) patient time at risk = events per person per year
Why do you measure incidence rate as a rate (e.g. patient time at risk)?
Not all patients are at risk throughout the whole study/whole life e.g. if someone is dead they are no longer at risk
How do you calculate prevalence?
Prevalence = number of people with the disease / total population
Do ‘relative risk and risk ratio’ and
‘relative rate and rate ratio’ have the same meanings?
Yes