CASE STUDY 27.9 SO YOU THOUGHT SPINACH WAS GOOD FOR YOU

question 11

Essay

CASE STUDY 27.9
SO YOU THOUGHT SPINACH WAS GOOD FOR YOU?
For Questions , use the following narrative
Narrative: Case study 27.9 summary
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that the antioxidant beta-carotene markedly increased the incidence of lung cancer among heavy smokers in Finland.Incidence of lung cancer was 18% higher among the 14,500 smokers who took beta-carotene than among the 14,500 who didn't.The probability that the observed increase was due to chance is less than one in one hundred.(A difference in such studies is taken seriously when the probability that it happened by chance is less than one in twenty.)This result was particularly worrying to researchers and the media, because it comes from a large, randomized clinical trial, yet it goes against all the previously available evidence.Over a hundred epidemiologic studies indicate that people who have high levels of beta-carotene in their diet and in their blood have lower risks of cancer, particularly lung cancer.

-{Case study 27.9 narrative} What does the following statement mean, in statistical notation and terms? "The probability that the observed increase in lung cancer was due to chance is less than one in one hundred."

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Definitions:

U.S. Census Bureau

A principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System responsible for producing data about the American people and economy.

Malthusian Theorem

The theory that exponential growth in population will outpace arithmetic growth in food production and other resources.

Demographic Transition

A theory about change over time from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates, resulting in a stabilized population.

Industrial Revolution

The rapid transformation of social life resulting from the technological and economic developments that began with the assembly line, steam power, and urbanization.