The hazard ratio as a measure of effect in clinical trials of elderly populations: common pitfalls and misconceptions
- 8 April 2020
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Aging Clinical and Experimental Research
- Vol. 33 (3), 505-511
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01538-8
Abstract
The hazard ratio is a measure of effect which is of paramount importance in etiological research, that is in studies aimed at assessing the strength of the causal relationship between a given treatment/exposure and a certain outcome. Despite the widespread use of the hazard ratio as a measure of effect in scientific reports and articles, the interpretation of this index is often accompanied by some misconceptions which can jeopardize the critical appraisal of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and observational studies as well. Herein, using a series of examples derived from RCTs in the elderly subjects, we address major pitfalls regarding the interpretation of the hazard ratio in geriatric research.Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effect of Aspirin on All-Cause Mortality in the Healthy ElderlyThe New England Journal of Medicine, 2018
- An overview of standard statistical methods for assessing exposure-outcome link in survival analysis (Part I): basic conceptsAging Clinical and Experimental Research, 2012
- Survival Analysis II: Cox RegressionNephron Clinical Practice, 2011
- The Hazards of Hazard RatiosEpidemiology, 2010
- The Randomized Controlled TrialNephron Clinical Practice, 2009
- Level of kidney function as a risk factor for cardiovascular outcomes in the elderlyKidney International, 2003