3 ms·

"according to a preliminary study of 81 patients in Austria." Keep in mind that it is not rare that findings made at the preliminary stage don't hold up when m

"according to a preliminary study of 81 patients in Austria." Keep in mind that it is not rare that findings made at the preliminary stage don't hold up when more rigorous studies are undertaken. There was a total of 81 patients in this trial. What is the statistical significance of the finding?

vomjom 17y ago
If you have a statistics background, it's pretty easy to tell that it's significant given the numbers (2 of 41 in the fish oil group and 11 of 40 in the placebo). The exact p-value is in the paper (0.007), or very significant. It's often difficult to get those kind of p-values in real world settings: http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/2/146?lookupType=volpage&vol=67&fp=146&view=short http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/2/146?l...
- rms 17y ago
  Wow. That's almost unbelievably significant for a study of a damn nutritional supplement. If this is replicable, let's hope this leads to new, more effective treatments for mental illness.
- Frazzydee 17y ago
  Thank you for that. I don't have a statistics background, so I was a bit unsure of how seriously I should take the findings given that it was described as "preliminary."
tokenadult 17y ago
Good question, but statistical significance is not the only issue to look at in a research study, as Peter Norvig of Google reminds us. http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html Disclaimer: I am already convinced about fish oil (in the first instance for cardiovascular preventive use) and take it daily.
jackchristopher 17y ago
Here's a well-cited overview of the role n-3s (EPA & DHA) in brain development, among other things: http://www.lef.org/LEFCMS/aspx/PrintVersionMagic.aspx?CmsID=115327 http://www.lef.org/LEFCMS/aspx/PrintVersionMagic.aspx?CmsID=... Overwhelming evidence for the benefits of DHA comes from a recent review of some 50 studies, which concluded that higher DHA in babies’ diets translates into better brain function, especially for cognitive and visual function.23 Further evidence that DHA may promote healthy nervous system development comes from a recent study in which researchers divided 53 normal, healthy infants into those exclusively breast-fed and those exclusively bottle-fed with a formula containing no DHA. Using assessments of visual, auditory, and sensory perception, they found definite abnormalities in all three tests in the bottle-fed babies at one year of age.

vomjom 17y ago

If you have a statistics background, it's pretty easy to tell that it's significant given the numbers (2 of 41 in the fish oil group and 11 of 40 in the placebo). The exact p-value is in the paper (0.007), or very significant. It's often difficult to get those kind of p-values in real world settings: http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/2/146?lookupType=volpage&vol=67&fp=146&view=short http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/67/2/146?l...

rms 17y ago
Wow. That's almost unbelievably significant for a study of a damn nutritional supplement. If this is replicable, let's hope this leads to new, more effective treatments for mental illness.
Frazzydee 17y ago
Thank you for that. I don't have a statistics background, so I was a bit unsure of how seriously I should take the findings given that it was described as "preliminary."

tokenadult 17y ago

Good question, but statistical significance is not the only issue to look at in a research study, as Peter Norvig of Google reminds us. http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html Disclaimer: I am already convinced about fish oil (in the first instance for cardiovascular preventive use) and take it daily.

jackchristopher 17y ago

Here's a well-cited overview of the role n-3s (EPA & DHA) in brain development, among other things: http://www.lef.org/LEFCMS/aspx/PrintVersionMagic.aspx?CmsID=115327 http://www.lef.org/LEFCMS/aspx/PrintVersionMagic.aspx?CmsID=... Overwhelming evidence for the benefits of DHA comes from a recent review of some 50 studies, which concluded that higher DHA in babies’ diets translates into better brain function, especially for cognitive and visual function.23 Further evidence that DHA may promote healthy nervous system development comes from a recent study in which researchers divided 53 normal, healthy infants into those exclusively breast-fed and those exclusively bottle-fed with a formula containing no DHA. Using assessments of visual, auditory, and sensory perception, they found definite abnormalities in all three tests in the bottle-fed babies at one year of age.