The Physicians\' Health Study randomly assigned 22,071 healthy male physicians a
ID: 3220040 • Letter: T
Question
The Physicians' Health Study randomly assigned 22,071 healthy male physicians at least 40 years old to take either an aspirin every other day or a placebo pill every other day. Of the 11126 physicians who took aspirin regularly for 5 years, 11 had a fatal heart attack and 137 had a nonfatal heart attack. Of the 10945 who took the placebo, 31 suffered a fatal heart attack and 205 had a nonfatal heart attack. Please use 4 decimal places to answer the questions below.
(a) What is the proportion of physicians who suffered a fatal heart attack in the:
aspirin group?
placebo group?
(b) Calculate the relative risk of a fatal heart attack for physicians taking aspirin compared with those taking a placebo (do not use the rounded values from part (a) to do your calculations. Use the original proportions in your calculation. Remember, give your answer to 4 decimal places.).
(c) What is the proportion of physicians who suffered a nonfatal heart attack in the:
aspirin group?
placebo group?
(d) Calculate the relative risk of a nonfatal heart attack, for physicians taking aspirin compared with those taking a placebo (do not use rounded values in your calculation and give your answer to 4 decimal places).
Explanation / Answer
a) Proportion of physicians who suffered a fatal heart attack in the aspirin group
= 11 / 11126
= 0.000989 (Rounded off to 6 decimal places)
Proportion of physicians who suffered a fatal heart attack in the placebo group
= 31 / 10945
= 0.002832 (Rounded off to 6 decimal places)
b) Relative risk of a fatal heart attack for physicians taking aspirin compared with those taking a placebo
= (11/11126) / (31/10945)
= 0.3491
c) Proportion of physicians who suffered a nonfatal heart attack in the aspirin group
= 137 / 11126
= 0.0123 (Rounded off to 4 decimal places)
Proportion of physicians who suffered a nonfatal heart attack in the placebo group
= 205 / 10945
= 0.0187 (Rounded off to 4 decimal places)
d) Relative risk of a nonfatal heart attack for physicians taking aspirin compared with those taking a placebo
= (137/11126) / (205/10945)
= 0.6574
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