A Recent Issue of the New England Journal of Medicine

question 50

Multiple Choice

A recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reports a study of all 122,754 infants born over an 8.5-year period at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, leaving out multiple births and infants with birth defects. The researchers wanted to know if there is a specific birth weight below which infant death and illness increases sharply.
This study is a(n)

• A) randomized comparative experiment.
• B) experiment, but subjects are not assigned at random.
• C) probability sample of a population.
• D) observational study, but not a probability sample.
• E) stratified sample.

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Definitions:

Alcohol

A chemical substance found in beverages such as beer, wine, and spirits, that can cause intoxication and has various health impacts when consumed.

Peripheral Nerves

Nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord, responsible for relaying information between the body and the central nervous system.

Dorsal Horn

A region of the spinal cord's gray matter that processes sensory information, receiving inputs from receptors in the body concerning touch, pain, and temperature.

Transmission

The process by which something is conveyed or carried from one person or place to another, especially in the context of diseases or information.