A New York Times article called “A Big Professional Headache” reports that “neur
ID: 3021146 • Letter: A
Question
A New York Times article called “A Big Professional Headache” reports that “neurologists suffer many more migraines than the general population, [. . .] and for those neurologists who specialize in treating headaches, the incidence is even higher [. . .] Eighteen percent of women and 6% of men in the general population say they have at least one migraine in a given year. Among women practicing neurology, the figure was 58%, and among the men, 34%. The difference was even more pronounced for headache specialists. Seventy-four percent of the women reported having migraines, as did 59% of the men.”7
a. Was this an experiment or an observational study?
b. If we are only interested in whether or not a person suffers from migraines, thenwe are considering a single categorical variable. The study described above actually features two additional variables. Tell what they are and if they are quantitative or categorical.
c. Report results for female and male neurologists, using the word “risk.”
d. Report results for female and male neurologists, using the words “majority” and “minority.”
e. The researchers who reported these results wrote that, “perhaps the prevalence of migraine in the general population is greater than studies would suggest, and neurologists are either better able to self-diagnose or better able to remember headaches with specific features.” Is this suggesting bias in the assessment of the variable’s values, or is it providing an explanation for why neurologists may actually be different from the rest of the population with respect to suffering from migraines?
f. An alternative explanation, according to the article, is that “doctors with histories of migraines are drawn to study them, or that the kind of people who become neurologists are the kind of people who get migraines.” Is this suggesting bias in the assessment of the variable’s values, or is it providing an explanation for why neurologists may actually be different from the rest of the population with respect to migraines?
Explanation / Answer
a) This was an observational study as there was no variable that required to be measured. All the variables were categorical in nature. Also, this fails to be an experiment as there were no repetition in the trials conducted.
b) The two additional variables based on which the study was classified were:
1) Gender of the subject
2) Whether the person is a headache/migraine specialist or not.
Both of these variables are qualitative in nature.
c) Women practising neurology are generally at a higher risk of at least one migraine a year than the men practising neurology
d) Majority of women practising neurology suffered from a migraine as opposed to a minority of men doing the same.
e) Statement 'e' suggests a possibility of a bias. For normal population, minor headaches may be often ignored. But Doctors may self-diagnose it and are able to specify it in the study as opposed to the general population surveyed, which might not be able to diagnose less severe migraines.
f) Statement 'f' possibly indicates that the neurologists are usually people with respect to the migraines as they might be the one who are inspired to take up this field due to their own history. Thus, they are different as opposed to the other population.
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