Biostatistics ( Platinum ) - SBA

1. A test is being conducted to determine if older students have a lower score (<200) in MRCOG. A group of older student’s age > 40 years who took MRCOG is compared to a group of younger students who also took MRCOG. What type of study is being conducted?

A. Case control
B. Cohort
C. Cross sectional
D. RCT
E. Predictive study

2. A test is being conducted to determine if older students have a lower score (<200) in MRCOG. A group of older student’s age > 40 years who took MRCOG is compared to a group of younger students who also took MRCOG. What type of study is being conducted? What is the odds ratio of older students having lower score?

A. (40/60)*(160/200)
B. (40*200)/ (60*160)
C. (40/160)*(60/200)
D. 40*16/60*200
E. Cannot be determined

3. A 5 year study is planned to assess the incidence and etiology of DM in 600 pregnant women. The study consists of two groups; one with GDM and the other without. DM is screened every 3 months using HbA1C. Which of the following study design aptly describes the above?

A. Case series
B. Case control
C. Cohort
D. Community survey
E. RCT

4. A study is conducted to examine the relationship between myocardial infarction and time spent driving when commuting to and from work. One hundred married males who had suffered infarcts were selected and their average commuting time ascertained from either the subject, or if the infarct had been fatal, their spouse. A comparison group of 100 married males who had not suffered infarcts was also selected and their average commuting time recorded. When examining this data for a possibly causal relationship between commuting time and the occurrence of myocardial infarcts, the most likely measure of association is

A. Odds ratio
B. Relative risk
C. Incidence rate
D. Attributable risk
E. Correlation coefficient

5. A correlation of +0.56 is found between alcohol consumption and systolic blood pressure in men. This correlation is significant at the 0.001 level. From this information we may conclude that:

A. There is no association between alcohol consumption and systolic pressure.
B. Men who consume less alcohol are at lower risk for increased systolic pressure.
C. Men who consume less alcohol are at higher risk for increased systolic pressure.
D. High alcohol consumption can cause increased systolic pressure in men.
E. High systolic pressure can cause increased alcohol consumption in men

6. A physician wishes to study whether moderate alcohol consumption is associated with heart disease. If, in reality, moderate alcohol consumption leads to a relative risk of heart disease of 0.60, the physician wants to have a 95% chance of detecting an effect this large in the planned study. This statement is an illustration of specifying

A. Alpha error
B. Beta error
C. A null hypothesis
D. Criterion odds
E. Statistical power

7. What statistical test would you run to test whether there was a difference between the cumulative mortality rate for City A and City B?

A. T-test
B. ANOVA
C. Regression
D. Correlation coefficient
E. Chi-square

8. A report of a clinical trial of a new drug for herpes simplex II versus a placebo noted that the new drug gave a higher proportion of success than the placebo. The report ended with the statement: chi-square = 4.72, p <0.05. In light of this information, we may conclude that

A. Fewer than one in 20 will fail to benefit from the drug
B. The chance that an individual patient will fail to benefit is less than 0.05
C. If the drug were effective, the probability of the reported finding is less than one in 20
D. If the drug were ineffective, the probability of the reported finding is less than 0.05
E. The null hypothesis is true

9. A survey of a popular seaside community (population 1,225) found the local inhabitants to have unusually elevated blood pressure. In this survey, just over 95% of the population had systolic between 110 and 190. Assuming a normal distribution for these assessed blood pressures, the standard deviation for systolic blood pressure in this seaside community is most likely

A. 10
B. 20
C. 30
D. 40
E. 50

10. Initial research supported a conclusion that a positive relationship exists between coffee consumption and heart disease. However, subsequent, more extensive research suggests that the initial conclusion was the result of a type I error. In this context, a type I error

A. Means there is no real-life significance, but statistical significance is found
B. Suggests that the researcher has probably selected the wrong statistical test
C. Results from a non-exclusionary clause in the null hypothesis
D. Indicates that the study failed to detect an effect statistically when one is present in the population
E. Has a probability in direct proportion to the size of the test statistic

11. A recently published report explored the relationship between height and subjects’ self-reported cholesterol levels in a sample of 44- to 65-yearold males. The report included a correlation of +0.02, computed for the relationship between height and cholesterol level. One of the possible interpretations of this correlation is:

A. The statistic proves that there is no definable relationship between the two specified variables
B. There is a limited causal relationship between the two specified variables
C. A real-life relationship may exist, but the measurement error is too large
D. A scatter plot of the data will show a clear linear slope.
E. The correlation is significant at the 0.02 level

12. A researcher wishing to demonstrate the efficacy of a new treatment for hypertension compares the effects of the new treatment versus placebo. This study provides a test of the null hypothesis that the new treatment has no effect on hypertension. In this case, the null hypothesis should be considered as

A. Positive proof that the stated premise is correct
B. The assertion of a statistically significant relationship
C. The assumption that the study design is adequate
D. The probability that the relationship being studied is the result of random factors
E. The result the experimenter hopes to achieve

13. A standardized test was used to assess the level of depression in a group of patients on a cardiac care unit. The results yielded a mean of 14.60 with a confidence interval of 14.55 and 14.65. This presented confidence interval is

A. Less precise, but has a higher confidence than 14.20 and 15.00
B. More precise, but has a lower confidence than 14.20 and 15.00
C. Less precise, but has a lower confidence than 14.20 and 15.00
D. More precise, but has a higher confidence than 14.20 and 15.00
E. Indeterminate, because the degree of confidence is not specified

14. Which method is used to assess the existing knowledge of a group?

A. Snowballing
B. Study guide
C. Action plan
D. Case studies
E. Brainstorming

15. You would like to undertake research to assess an intervention. What is the next most appropriate step to be taken?

A. Double blinding
B. Randomization
C. Ethical approval
D. Informed consent
E. Access to the patient information sheet

16. In a RCT

A. Patients who already have a certain condition are compared with people who do not
B. Participants are recruited and are then randomly allocated to an experimental group receiving the new treatment or a control group receiving no treatment
C. Participants suspected to have the target condition are asked to undergo both a new diagnostic test and the existing gold standard test
D. There is a comprehensive survey of a topic where all relevant studies of the highest level of evidence are identified and data from these studies are then combined in a systematic and objective way
E. There is an exposed and non-exposed group of participants who are then followed-up over time

17. Following was the result of a Meta analysis.

What is the overall conclusion of this study?

A. P value is >0.05
B. P value <0.05
C. Cannot make out significance from the above information
D. CI of overall estimate does not include 1 in its range and hence not significant
E. Diamond does not touch the line and hence not significant

18. All the following are true regarding the systematic review and meta-analysis except

A. Systematic review may include a meta-analysis
B. Systematic review may not include a meta-analysis
C. Meta analysis may not include systematic review
D. Systematic review should always include a meta-analysis
E. Meta analysis may include systematic review

19. In a case-control study, patients with lung cancer had a highly significantly lower cholesterol level than did controls. This provides strong evidence that:

A. Low cholesterol causes lung cancer.
B. There is evidence for a relationship between low cholesterol and lung cancer in the sampled population.
C. Low cholesterol is not related to lung cancer.
D. Low cholesterol and lung cancer always go together.
E. Low cholesterol is a risk factor for the development of lung cancer.

20. In a case-control study, 101 stroke patients were compared with 137 healthy controls. Among the results were: analysed by Chi-squared test

Which among the following is false?

A. The test used is appropriate for this study
B. It is estimated that the odds of stroke for smokers compared to never-smokers is 6.6.
C. The finding is significant.
D. We can conclude that smoking causes stroke.
E. There is good evidence that smokers have an increased risk of stroke.

21. In a case-control study to investigate oral contraception and breast cancer:

A. Cases would be women with breast cancer.
B. Controls would be given oral contraception.
C. Cases would be given oral contraception.
D. Women with breast cancer would be randomly allocated to be cases or controls.
E. Controls would be observed for several years to see how many developed breast cancer.

22. For a t test for two independent samples to be valid:

A. The numbers of observations must be approximately the same in the two groups.
B. The standard deviations of observations must be approximately the same in the two groups.
C. The mean difference is not normally distributed.
D. The observations must be from distributions which are approximately not Normal.
E. The size of the samples must be small

23. The paired t test is:

A. Impractical for large samples.
B. Equivalent to a chi-squared test.
C. Suitable for very small samples.
D. Used for independent samples.
E. Requires the assumption that differences between paired observations need not follow a Normal Distribution.

24. When a distribution is skewed to the right:

A. The median is greater than the mean.
B. The distribution is always unimodal.
C. The tail on the left is shorter than the tail on the right.
D. The standard deviation is always less than the variance.
E. The majority of observations are more than the mean.

25. Which among the following is not a continuous variable:

A. Arm circumference.
B. Age last birthday.
C. Exact age.
D. Peak expiratory flow rate.
E. Height in cm

Biostatistics ( Platinum ) – SBA

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