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A deficiency of the odds ratio as a measure of effect size
Author(s) -
Newcombe Robert G.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
statistics in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.996
H-Index - 183
eISSN - 1097-0258
pISSN - 0277-6715
DOI - 10.1002/sim.2683
Subject(s) - odds ratio , measure (data warehouse) , odds , statistics , binary number , mathematics , econometrics , computer science , logistic regression , data mining , arithmetic
The odds ratio is probably the most widely used measure of association for binary variables. It has many well‐recognized advantages and disadvantages vis‐à‐vis the risk ratio. We demonstrate that for chained or conditional probabilities, odds ratios can behave paradoxically, by failing to show a reinforcement effect that is expressed very clearly when risk ratios are used. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.