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Reply: WARNING! - Grapefruit and meds (heart and others)

Really? I've been on statins for years. I can live without my beloved grapefruit to help...

Posted by iride6606

12 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:WARNING! - Grapefruit and meds (heart and others) Really? I've been on statins for years. I can live without my beloved grapefruit to help...

Reply: statins

Bobby, I wasn't responding to you, I have no desire to have one of your circular...

Posted by iride6606

8 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:statins Bobby, I wasn't responding to you, I have no desire to have one of your circular...

Reply: statins

So I'm a numbers guy and I go by what the numbers tell me. Most researchers and...

Posted by iride6606

So I'm a numbers guy and I go by what the numbers tell me. Most researchers and medical professionals are moving away from ARR and NNT numbers as a way to interpret the results of a study. The reason is simple; there are too many calculations for these numbers so compared to each other they mean nothing. For instance, the position of the NIH;

Absolute risk reductions and consequent NNT values associated with statin therapy among those with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and low low-density lipoprotein cholesterol are comparable if not superior to published NNT values for several widely accepted interventions for primary cardiovascular prevention, including the use of statin therapy among those with overt hyperlipidemia.

Now let's consider NNT which many assume is that inverse of ARR or; NNT = 1/ARR.

The problem is that is just one way to calculate NNT and is not commonly used by statisticians but is usually used to look for flaws in a trial or to minimize the results as it's an easy target. The real question is what NNT calculation was used? Was it:
Choen's d or Kreamer & Kupher?

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0019070

Strauss Survival method; NNT 1/Arr-1St-Sc

is it one of these with certain co=variables introduced;

NNT [risk difference> = 1 / RD

` NNT [relative risk of event> = 1 / (pc*RRR)

` NNT [relative risk of no event> = 1 / ((1-pc)*(RRne-1))

` NNT [odds ratio> = (1-(pc*(1-OR)) / ((1-pc)*pc*(1-OR))

Or how about confidence factors, any added;

Confidence Interval Methods

Confidence intervals for odds ratios were calculated using the methods described by Martin and Autsin (1991).

Confidence intervals for relative risk are calculated using Koopman's likelihood-based approach advocated by Gart and Nam (Gart and Nam, 1988; Koopman, 1984).

Confidence intervals for risk difference and number needed to treat are based on the iterative method of Miettinen and Nurminen (Newcombe, 1998a; Gart and Nam 1990; Miettinen and Nurminen, 1985) for constructing confidence intervals for differences between independent binomial proportions.

Confidence intervals for individual risks are calculated by the Clopper-Pearson method for binomial proportions (Newcombe, 1998b).

The notation of harm/benefit suggested by Altman (1988) is used here instead of quoting negative estimates and confidence limits.

Again, the best number to look at is simple, relative risk reduction which is very basic and based on the data collected, people with low cholesterol are 42% less likely of dying of heart disease. It's not all about ARRs or NNTs, it really is this simple and not part of any hype by the drug companies. As a researcher who does this every day I can tell you this with total confidence.

View Thread

Posted byiride6606

8 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:statins So I'm a numbers guy and I go by what the numbers tell me. Most researchers and...

Reply: statins

So I'm a numbers guy, I live numbers. It's my way of earning a living and a hobby. People...

Posted by iride6606

8 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:statins So I'm a numbers guy, I live numbers. It's my way of earning a living and a hobby. People...

Reply: statins

Wow, that sure illustrates the effectiveness of statins. It's interesting to see the...

Posted by iride6606

8 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:statins Wow, that sure illustrates the effectiveness of statins. It's interesting to see the...

Reply: Nix the statins. Just say NO, No and No....

I appreciate your point of view, sounds like you did what was best for you. That does not...

Posted by iride6606

1 Reply | ReplyReport This| Share this:Nix the statins. Just say NO, No and No.... I appreciate your point of view, sounds like you did what was best for you. That does not...

Reply: asea

Yup....................

Posted by iride6606

4 Replies | ReplyReport This| Share this:asea Yup....................

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