A Case-Control Study Evaluated the Association Between Long-Term Use of a Heartburn

question 20

Multiple Choice

A case-control study evaluated the association between long-term use of a heartburn medication and bladder and colon cancer.  The study enrolled 130 patients with bladder cancer, 130 patients with colon cancer, and 230 patients matched by age and sex with no history of cancer.  All study participants were interviewed and their medical records reviewed for past long-term use of the heartburn medication.  Long-term use of the heartburn medication was found in 30 (23.1%) patients with bladder cancer, in 28 (21.5%) patients with colon cancer, and in 30 (13.0%) patients with no history of cancer.  Based on these results, which of the following is the closest interpretation of the odds ratio (OR) of long-term use of the heartburn medication in patients with bladder cancer relative to patients with no history of cancer?

• A)Equal odds of long-term use of heartburn medication in both groups, with OR = 1
• B)Higher odds among patients with history of bladder cancer, with OR = 1.5
• C)Higher odds among patients with history of bladder cancer, with OR = 2.0
• D)Lower odds among patients with history of bladder cancer, with OR = 0.25
• E)Lower odds among patients with history of bladder cancer, with OR = 0.5

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Definitions:

Ordinal Data

A type of categorical statistic that involves data classified into categories within a defined order but not necessarily with equal intervals between categories.

Nominal Data

Data that is categorized into distinct groups without any order or ranking between them, used for labeling or naming categories.

Ordinal Data

Data that can be categorized or ranked in order, but the intervals between ranks may not be equal.

Interval Data

A type of numerical data where the difference between two values is meaningful, but there is no true zero point, allowing for comparisons of differences but not ratios.