A 45-Year-Old Man Comes to the Office for a Routine

question 105

Multiple Choice

A 45-year-old man comes to the office for a routine visit.  The patient has a first-degree relative with Alzheimer dementia and is concerned about his chances of developing the disease.  He has read in the newspaper that decreased consumption of yellow and orange fruits and vegetables has been associated with Alzheimer disease and would like to know how likely he is to develop the disease.  A medical literature review uncovers a recent cohort study that evaluated the association between blood carotene concentration and Alzheimer disease.  The development of the disease was evaluated in a 20-year follow-up study of 200 middle-aged subjects who have a first-degree relative with Alzheimer disease.  The results are as follows: Assuming the patient has low carotene levels, what is his 20-year risk of developing Alzheimer disease?

• A)0.19
• B)0.23
• C)0.27
• D)0.30
• E)0.40

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Definitions:

Gambler's Fallacy

The erroneous assumption that an event occurring with greater regularity than usual in a specific timeframe will occur less often in the future, and the opposite.

System of Symbols

A structured set of symbols or signs used for communication or representation within a cultural or computational context.

Semantics

The study of meaning in language, including the analysis of the significance of words, phrases, sentences, and symbols.

Pragmatics

Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics concerned with how context influences the interpretation of meaning in language use.