/*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} Problem 42 Calcium and Death Rate The magaz... [FREE SOLUTION] | 91影视

91影视

Log out

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 10: Problem 42

Calcium and Death Rate The magazine Health After 50 reported on the Iowa Women's Health Study. Experts used a questionnaire to collect data from 39,000 women \(55-69\) years old concerning their dietary supplements. After 19 years they looked at death rates. Many of the supplements were associated with a higher risk of death. However, the consumption of calcium was associated with a lower death rate. Does this study show that consumption of calcium causes lower death rates?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The study does not definitively show that the consumption of calcium causes lower death rates, it shows an association. This is a correlation, not causation. Other factors may be contributing to the observed results.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Background

This is regarding the Iowa Women's Health Study. In this study, dietary supplement data was collected from 39,000 women aged 55-69 years. After 19 years, the death rates were examined. It was found that many supplements corresponded with higher death rates, but calcium seemed to coincide with a lower death rate.
02

Correlation versus Causation

Although the study finds a correlation, it does not necessarily mean causation. The data indicates that there is a relationship between calcium consumption and lower death rates, but this does not prove that calcium consumption 'caused' the lower rates. Multiple factors could be contributing to the observed results.
03

Consider other Factors

These factors could include the overall health of the women consuming calcium, their other dietary habits, lifestyle factors such as physical exercise, and many else. To establish causation, we would need to isolate calcium as the sole variable affecting death rates, which would be practically impossible in this context. Therefore, while the study supports the idea that calcium intake could be associated with a lower death rate, it does not necessarily prove that consuming calcium leads to lower death rates by itself.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with 91影视!

Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Statistical Analysis
Understanding statistical analysis is key when interpreting studies like the Iowa Women's Health Study. In this investigation, experts relied on statistical methods to analyze the data collected from 39,000 women. Statistical analysis involves using numerical data to discover underlying patterns and relationships. However, it鈥檚 important to differentiate between correlation and causation. Correlation indicates a relationship between two variables, like calcium consumption and lower death rates. But, this alone doesn鈥檛 prove that one causes the other.
Statistical analysis should also consider the possibility of confounding variables鈥攐ther influences that could lead to the observed effect. It requires a rigorous approach to determine if the relationship is indeed causal. For students diving into statistical concepts, grasping the significance of these distinctions is vital. In health studies, incorrect conclusions due to misinterpreting data can have serious implications.
Data Collection Methods
The quality and type of data collected are crucial in any study. The Iowa Women's Health Study used questionnaires, a common data collection method in health research. Questionnaires can capture a wide array of information, from dietary habits to lifestyle choices, over a large population. This approach has benefits such as being cost-effective and able to gather large amounts of data quickly. However, it also comes with challenges, such as reliance on self-reporting, which can introduce biases or errors.
Understanding different data collection methods, their strengths, and limitations can help students critically evaluate research findings. For health studies in particular, choosing the appropriate method is fundamental to gather reliable data that supports robust conclusions. In the exercise, improving the reliability could involve cross-checking the questionnaire data with medical records or using biomarkers to validate the dietary supplement intake.
Health Studies
Health studies aim to understand factors that influence health outcomes in populations, just as the Iowa Women's Health Study attempted to link dietary supplements with death rates among women. When teaching about health studies, it鈥檚 essential to emphasize the complexity of health-related research. Multiple variables鈥攇enetics, environment, lifestyle鈥攊nteract to affect health.
Any conclusion drawn must therefore be cautious. In an exercise setting, students should be encouraged to look beyond direct associations and consider wider determinants of health. They should also understand study designs, such as longitudinal studies, case-control studies, or randomized controlled trials, to assess the strength of evidence provided. Through this lens, they'll be better equipped to critically analyze and apply findings from health studies to real-world questions.

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Effects of Parental Education on Boys' Education (Example 2) Refer to Exercise 10.7. The data table compares 15 -year-old boys who are either attending school or have dropped out, in order to understand the impact of parental education on them. Report the observed value of the chi-square statistic. \begin{tabular}{|l|c|c|} \hline & Educated Parents & Uneducated Parents \\ \hline Studying & 42 & 23 \\ \hline Not Studying & 14 & 8 \\ \hline \end{tabular}

Read the following abstract and explain what it shows. A rate ratio of 1 means there is no difference in rates, and a confidence interval for rate ratios that captures 1 means there is no significant difference in rates. (An intensivist is a doctor who specializes in intensive care.) We conducted a 1-year randomized trial in an academic medical ICU of the effects of nighttime staffing with in-hospital intensivists (intervention) as compared with nighttime coverage by daytime intensivists who were available for consultation by telephone (control). We randomly assigned blocks of 7 consecutive nights to the intervention or the control strategy. The primary outcome was patients' length of stay in the ICU. Secondary outcomes were patients' length of stay in the hospital, ICU and in-hospital mortality, discharge disposition, and rates of readmission to the ICU. A total of 1598 patients were included in the analyses. ... Patients who were admitted on intervention days were exposed to nighttime intensivists on more nights than were patients admitted on control days. Nonetheless, intensivist staffing on the night of admission did not have a significant effect on the length of stay in the ICU (rate ratio for the time to ICU discharge, \(0.98 ; 95 \%\) confidence interval [CI], \(0.88\) to \(1.09\); \(\mathrm{P}=0.72\) ), on ICU mortality (relative risk, \(1.07 ; 95 \%\) CI, \(0.90\) to \(1.28\) ), or on any other end point.

A Drug for Platelets Platelets are an important part of the blood because they cause the blood to clot when that is needed to stop bleeding. The drug eltrombopag (which we shall henceforth refer to as EL), was tried on patients with chronic liver disease who were about to be operated on to see whether it would prevent the need for transfusion of platelets during the surgery and shortly thereafter. Read the following excerpt from the abstract that accompanied this study, and answer the questions below. "Methods: We randomly assigned 292 patients with chronic liver disease of diverse causes and platelet counts of less than 50,000 per cubic millimeter to receive EL, at a dose of \(75 \mathrm{mg}\) daily, or placebo for 14 days before a planned elective invasive procedure that was performed within 5 days after the last dose. The primary end point was the avoidance of a platelet transfusion before, during, and up to 7 days after the procedure. Results: A platelet transfusion was avoided in 104 of 145 patients who received EL (72\%) and in 28 of 147 who received placebo \((19 \%)(\mathrm{P}<0.001) . "\) (Source: Nezam Afdhal et al. 2012 . Eltrombopag before procedures in patients with cirrhosis and thrombocytopenia. New England Journal of Medicine \(367,716-724 .)\) a. Identify the treatment variable and the response variable. b. Was this a controlled experiment or observational study. Explain. c. Do the sample percentages suggest that the drug was effective in reducing the chance of needing platelet transfusions? d. What does the small p-value show? c. Can you conclude that the use of EL reduces the chance of needing a platelet transfusion? Why or why not?

Hospital Rooms When patients are admitted to hospitals, they are sometimes assigned to a single room with one bed and sometimes assigned to a double room, with a roommate. (Some insurance companies will pay only for the less expensive, double rooms.) A researcher was interested in the effect of the type of room on the length of stay in the hospital. Assume that we are not dealing with health issues that require single rooms. Suppose that upon admission to the hospital, the names of patients who would have been assigned a double room were put onto a list and a systematic random sample was taken; every tenth patient who would have been assigned to a double room was part of the experiment. For each participant, a coin was flipped: If it landed heads up, she or he got a double room, and if it landed tails up, a single room. Then the experimenters observed how many days the patients stayed in the hospital and compared the two groups. The experiment ran for two months. Suppose those who stayed in single rooms stayed (on average) one less day, and suppose the difference was significant. a. Can you generalize to others from this experiment? If so, to whom can you generalize, and why can you do it? b. Can you infer causality from this study? Why or why not?

Alumni Donations The alumni office wishes to determine whether students who attend a reception with alumni just before graduation are more likely to donate money within the next two years. a. Describe a study based on a sample of students that would allow the alumni office to conclude that attending the reception causes future donations but that it is not possible to generalize this result to all students. b. Describe a study based on a sample of students that does not allow fundraisers to conclude that attending receptions causes future donations but does allow them to generalize to all students. c. Describe a study based on a sample of students that allows fundraisers to conclude that attending the reception causes future donations and also allows them to generalize to all students.
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Math Textbooks

Pure Maths

Read Explanation

Statistics

Read Explanation

Logic and Functions

Read Explanation

Calculus

Read Explanation

Mechanics Maths

Read Explanation

Geometry

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.