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Epidemiology STUDY A: Objective: To determine the relation between stressful lif

ID: 3327530 • Letter: E

Question

Epidemiology

STUDY A: Objective: To determine the relation between stressful life events and difficulties and the onset of breast cancer. Design: Case-control study. Setting: 3 NHS breast clinics serving west Leeds. Participants: 399 women, aged 40-79, attending the breast clinics who were Leeds residents. Main outcome measures: Odds ratios of the risk of developing breast cancer after experiencing one or more severe life events, severe difficulties, severe 2 year non-personal health difficulties, or severe 2 year personal health difficulties in the 5 years before clinical presentation. Results: 332 (83%) women participated. Women diagnosed with breast cancer were no more likely to have experienced one or more severe life events (odds ratio = 1), or one or more severe difficulties (OR = 1) than women diagnosed with a benign breast lump. Conclusion: These findings do not support the hypothesis that severe life events or difficulties are associated with onset of breast cancer. 3A. What were the researchers interested in finding out (What is the exposure of interest? What is the health outcome of interest?)? 3B.What is the study design? Who are the cases? Who are the controls? 3C. What did they find, specifically? Interpret the odds ratio. 3D. What conclusions do the researchers draw from their findings? What do you think of their conclusions? 3E. What if the OR was 5? How would you interpret this? 5F. What if the OR was .2? Interpret this. Epidemiology

STUDY A: Objective: To determine the relation between stressful life events and difficulties and the onset of breast cancer. Design: Case-control study. Setting: 3 NHS breast clinics serving west Leeds. Participants: 399 women, aged 40-79, attending the breast clinics who were Leeds residents. Main outcome measures: Odds ratios of the risk of developing breast cancer after experiencing one or more severe life events, severe difficulties, severe 2 year non-personal health difficulties, or severe 2 year personal health difficulties in the 5 years before clinical presentation. Results: 332 (83%) women participated. Women diagnosed with breast cancer were no more likely to have experienced one or more severe life events (odds ratio = 1), or one or more severe difficulties (OR = 1) than women diagnosed with a benign breast lump. Conclusion: These findings do not support the hypothesis that severe life events or difficulties are associated with onset of breast cancer. 3A. What were the researchers interested in finding out (What is the exposure of interest? What is the health outcome of interest?)? 3B.What is the study design? Who are the cases? Who are the controls? 3C. What did they find, specifically? Interpret the odds ratio. 3D. What conclusions do the researchers draw from their findings? What do you think of their conclusions? 3E. What if the OR was 5? How would you interpret this? 5F. What if the OR was .2? Interpret this. Epidemiology

STUDY A: Objective: To determine the relation between stressful life events and difficulties and the onset of breast cancer. Design: Case-control study. Setting: 3 NHS breast clinics serving west Leeds. Participants: 399 women, aged 40-79, attending the breast clinics who were Leeds residents. Main outcome measures: Odds ratios of the risk of developing breast cancer after experiencing one or more severe life events, severe difficulties, severe 2 year non-personal health difficulties, or severe 2 year personal health difficulties in the 5 years before clinical presentation. Results: 332 (83%) women participated. Women diagnosed with breast cancer were no more likely to have experienced one or more severe life events (odds ratio = 1), or one or more severe difficulties (OR = 1) than women diagnosed with a benign breast lump. Conclusion: These findings do not support the hypothesis that severe life events or difficulties are associated with onset of breast cancer. 3A. What were the researchers interested in finding out (What is the exposure of interest? What is the health outcome of interest?)? 3B.What is the study design? Who are the cases? Who are the controls? 3C. What did they find, specifically? Interpret the odds ratio. 3D. What conclusions do the researchers draw from their findings? What do you think of their conclusions? 3E. What if the OR was 5? How would you interpret this? 5F. What if the OR was .2? Interpret this.

Explanation / Answer

3A Researcher interested in finding out the association between experiencing one or more severe life events or severe one or more severe difficulties and risk of breast cancer. exposure of interest here is experiencing one or more severe life events or severe one or more severe difficulties and health outcome of interest here = breast cancer.

3B study design is a case-control study. Cases were women diagnosed with breast cancer. controls were women diagnosed with a benign breast lump

3C. They did not significant association (OR =1), that represent similar distribution of exposure in cases as compared with controls

3D These findings do not support the hypothesis that severe life events or difficulties are associated with the onset of breast cancer. The conclusions driven by the researchers are correct.

3E if the OR was 5, then we can interpret that women diagnosed with breast cancer were 5 times more likely to have experienced exposure (one or more severe life events, or one or more severe difficulties) than women diagnosed with a benign breast lump

5F. If the OR was 0.2, then we can interpret that, exposure (one or more severe life events, or one or more severe difficulties) is associated with 80% protective effect for the developing breast cancer as compared with the controls (benign breast lump)