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Biostatistics- Week 7 Discussion Questions Psoriasis is a chronic relapsing dise

ID: 2951505 • Letter: B

Question

Biostatistics- Week 7 Discussion Questions


Psoriasis is a chronic relapsing disease of the skin. Psoriasisaffects both sexes equally and can occur at any age, although itmost commonly appears for the first time between the ages of 15 and25 years. The most widely used measurement tool for psoriasis isthe PASI (Psoriasis Area Severity Index). The PASI combines theassessment of the severity of lesions and the area affected into asingle score in the range 0 (no disease) to 72 (maximal disease).You are reading the trial report of a topical treatment forpsoriasis. The outcome was PASI score. The unadjusted result forthe topical treatment compared with placebo is 5.5 95% confidenceinterval (-0.1, 11.1). A result adjusted for gender is alsopresented 5.33 95% confidence interval (0.05, 10.6). This result isstatistically significant while the unadjusted result is not. Theimpact of gender shows an increase in effectiveness for femalescompared to males with male PASI being on average higher by 2.7 95%confidence interval (0.5,4.9).

How would you interpret the effectiveness of the treatmentoverall and for females compared to males?

In your discussion identify extra information you would requirein order to make a decision. Defend your choice when commenting onyour classmates’ evaluations.

Explanation / Answer

Given that The unadjusted result for the topical treatment compared withplacebo is 5.5 95% confidence interval (-0.1, 11.1). The above interval contain 0 value. Therefore we can conclude that there is no significantdifference between treatement and placebo. So the treatement is not effective A result adjusted for gender is also presented 5.33 95%confidence interval (0.05, 10.6). This result is statisticallysignificant while the unadjusted result is not Yes it is statistically significant, because that confidenceinterval did not contain 0 The impact of gender shows an increase in effectiveness forfemales compared to males with male PASI being on average higher by2.7 95% confidence interval (0.5,4.9). The given confidence interval did not contain 0 Therefore treatment is more effective on females compared tomales