This is a page to store the notes on the effort to resolve the mess of epidemiology notation and terminology.

Main references

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SMM: Statistical methods in medical research (4 ed.) 20K gs citations

DoE: A Dictionary of Epidemiology (6 ed.) 6K gs citations

EBtB: Epidemiology: Beyond the Basics (4 ed.) 2K gs citations

EAI: Epidemiology: An Introduction (2 ed.) 2K gs citations

Affected pages

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shorthand notation Template:Medical research studies synonyms example issues
Absolute risk reduction

Risk difference

ARR , pA, EER Epidemiology/methods: association: absolute DoE, EAI, text: (negative) risk difference

DoE, text: (dual) absolute risk increase

text: (negative) excess risk text: risk difference

text: absolute effect

ARR RRR worksheet

RCT risk reduction

RCT risk increase

  • first two references are poor and dead
  • should be merged with Excess risk, which is a synonym
  • formula contradicts DoE, SMM, EBtB, EAI (risk difference)
  • Presenting results section should be clarified or removed
  • Add image
  • Make risk difference the main article (in progress)
  • Add statistics
Relative risk reduction RRR , EER Epidemiology/methods:

association: relative

EBtB, text: efficacy

EAI, text: relative effect

DoE, text: (dual) relative risk increase

ARR RRR worksheet

RCT risk reduction

RCT risk increase

  • formula contradicts DoE, and EBtB (efficacy).
  • formula does not contradict EAI (relative effect)
  • references 2 and 3 are dead
  • reference 4 is poor
  • relative risk increase should be mentioned in the text
  • there should be a link to Vaccine efficacy, which is a synonym
  • relative effect should be added as a synonym.
  • Add image
Number needed to treat NNT pB, , EER Epidemiology/methods:

association: absolute

- ARR RRR worksheetRCT risk reduction
  • definition and all examples contradict the formula in the worksheet
  • references could be improved
  • Add image
Number needed to harm NNH pexposure,

, EER

Epidemiology/methods

association:absolute

- custom

RCT risk reduction

  • defined as inverse of attributable risk, while it should be an inverse of absolute risk increase
  • worked example is way too complicated, and involves notions secondary to the topic
  • poor references
  • Add image
Relative risk

Risk ratio

RR pevent when not exposed, a, EER, , Epidemiology/methods: association: relative text: relative risk ARR RRR worksheet + custom

RCT risk reduction

  • too many examples
  • Bayesian interpretation is unclear
  • statistical significance and signal vs noise section is too broad
  • statistical ratios section should be removed
  • references to relative probability are poor
  • Add image
  • Make risk ratio the main article
Odds ratio OR , p1, X, n11, Epidemiology/methods: association: relative ARR RRR worksheet

RCT risk reduction

too much for me, I give up on this one
Attributable risk - Epidemiology/methods: association: absolute text: excess risk -
  • this term should be depricated, and the page should indicate that, with some historical context.
Attributable fraction among the exposed AFe Epidemiology/methods: association: absolute text: Attributable risk percent among exposed

text: Attributable fraction among the exposed

text: Attributable proportion among the exposed

text: Relative attributable risk

text: Attributable risk among the exposed

ARR RRR worksheet

RCT risk reduction

  • should be renamed to attributable fraction among the exposed
  • FAR should be clarified or removed
  • add an interpretation section
  • replace arr rrr by risk increase example
  • Add image
  • Add reference to population thing
  • Add reference to preventable fraction
Attributable fraction for the population AFp , , Epidemiology/methods: association: absolute text: Attributable proportion for the population

text: Population attributable proportion

text: Levin's attributable risk

text: Population attributable risk

text: Population attributable fraction

-
  • needs some examples
  • needs references from other effect sizes
  • Add image
  • Add reference to preventable fraction
Preventive fraction

Preventable fraction among the unexposed

PFu Epidemiology/methods: association: absolute - ARR RRR worksheet

RCT risk reduction

  • preventable fraction for the population is only mentioned in the DoE.
  • odds ratio thing is not mentioned in the main sources.
  • Add to table
Preventable fraction for the population PFp Epidemiology/methods: association: absolute - -
Hazard ratio HR , , - -
Rate ratio - - text: Incidence density ratio -
  • could be merged with relative risk
Excess risk ER - - -
  • could be merged with absolute risk reduction
Experimental event rate EER
Absolute risk AR

Things to fix

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Notation

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Harmonize the notation, if possible staying close to dictionary of epidemiology (DoE):

Notation of the dictionary of the epidemiology:

  - incidence rate among the exposed

 - incidence rate among the unexposed

 - incidence rate in the population

etc.

Terminology

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Remove ambiguous terms and align with the dictionary of epidemiology:

  • Attributable risk percent -> Attributable fraction among the exposed
  • Deprecate Attributable risk. Quote:

"attributable risk (Syn: causal risk difference) The risk of the outcome had everybody

in the population been exposed minus the risk of the outcome had everybody in the

population remained unexposed. [...] Unfortunately,

this term and attributable rate have been used to denote a number of different

concepts, including the attributable fraction for the population, the attributable

fraction among the exposed, and the rate difference."

Template

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Name of the category Epidemiology/methods of the Template:Medical research studies is not ideal, and further subdivisions to "occurrence", "association:absolute", "association:relative", "other" is not adding much clarity.

It needs to be sorted out.

The general terms found in pages are:

A good candidate from the dictionary of the Epidemiology is:

"effect measure A quantity that measures the effect of a factor on the frequency or risk of

a health outcome or effect. Such measures include the attributable fraction, which

measure the fraction of cases due to a factor; risk differences and rate differences,

which measure the amount a factor adds to the risk or rate of a disease; and risk

ratios, odds ratios, and rate ratios, which measure the amount by which a factor

multiplies the risk, odds, or rate of disease. The identification of these quantities with

effect measures presumes that there is no bias in the quantity."

Worked example

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The "ARR RRR worksheet" focuses on control vs target group, while in epidemiology I find exposed vs unexposed more frequently.

Also, target vs control does not allow for discussion about the population.

Also, the positive effect - negative effect distinction is slightly too heavy on the understandability.

Also, some formulas do not match the literature

Random notes

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What is this ?!

Related pages