Analysis of the relationship between cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes
1. Suppose a researcher conducts an analysis of the relationship between cardiovascular
disease and type II diabetes. The basic summary of the findings are presented in the
following table.
Pati
ent
BMI
(kg/m2)
Hypertensi
on (Y/N)
Diabet
es
Type
II
(Y/N)
Smoking
status
(Never,
Quit,
Social,
Current)
Educat
ion
Status
(<High
, High,
>High)
Alcoh
ol (>2
drinks
a day?
Y/N)
Religious
Background
(Catholic,
Jewish,
Muslim,
Other)
Ethnicity
(AA, W,
A, H,
Other)
A 27 N N Current <High Y Catholic AA
B 34 Y Y Never >High Y Other A
C 21 N N Quit High Y Other W
D 28 Y N Social >High N Muslim W
E 36 Y Y Current <High Y Jewish W
A) Describe the following in reference to their status as a variable, observation, or value:
column 3, row 5, column 3/row 2, column 9.
B) Are any of the variables included in the study ordinal? If so, identify the ordinal variables.
2. Suppose a researcher conducts an experiment to assess the measuring capabilities of a
new device aimed at detecting the boiling point of a chemical. The chemical has a known
boiling point of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. His measurement device is tested 10 times, and
results in the following measurements for boiling point. What can we say about the
device with regards to its precision, accuracy, and potential bias?
Measurement Boiling Point (degrees Fahrenheit)
1 129
2 137
3 136
4 141
5 139
6 142
7 136
8 127
9 143
10 123
3. A surveyor wants to sample a city for the local Public Health Office in order to assess
asthma rates annually. In order to get the best estimate for the project, the surveyor first
decides to sample 2 of 15 census tracts, and then to sample 5 households from each tract.
Assume there are only 10 households in each tract. The surveyor randomly assigns each
tract in the city a number 01-15, and each household in each tract a number 01-10. Use
the following random number table to select each tract, and then each household,
continuing along the line.
058791 211403 098746 170528 086401 370614 097810 036418 340514
A) What kind of sampling strategy is this?
B) Which census tracts and households will be selected?
4. Investigators are interested in the relationship between sleep apnea and Alzheimer’s
disease. In order to more thoroughly understand the relationship, these investigators
decide to recruit 50 participants with Alzheimer’s and 50 participants without
Alzheimer’s, and look at their history of sleep apnea.
A) What type of study design is this?
B) What are the explanatory and response variables?
5.
The following measurements represent the systolic and diastolic blood pressures (mm
HG) for a group of individuals awaiting confirmation for enrollment in a study
investigating the efficacy of a new anti-hypertensive medication.
SYSBP DIASBP
118 73
132 81
147 87