Tutorial 4 – Questions

The normal distribution

1. Systolic blood pressure. From a cohort study it is found that the distribution of systolic blood
pressure (SBP) values in a population aged over 55 has a mean of 120 mmHg and a standard
deviation of 15 mmHg. Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) is defined as a SBP over 140 mmHg.
From these parameters, using the attached table and assuming a normal distribution for SBP in
this population, estimate the proportion of people over 55 years old who have:
a. Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH).
b. SBP above 160.
c. SBP between 140 and 160.

2. KidSkin Study. In a random sample of school children aged 5 or 6 years, the sample mean ( x ) of
total body surface area was 0.85 m2 and the sample standard deviation (s) = 0.06 m2 (based on
data from the KidSkin Study, Perth, WA).

Assume that total body surface area is normally distributed within the population and that the
sample mean and sample standard deviation provide reasonable estimates of the population
parameters.

a. Calculate the proportion of school children in this population with a total body surface
area between 0.75 and 0.94 m2.
b. Determine the 95% reference range of total body surface area.
3. Wechsler intelligence scale. Below are the mean (standard deviation) revised Wechsler
intelligence scale (WISC-R) IQ scores for children recorded at 7-8 years of age by duration of
breast milk feeding. (Horwood LJ, Darlow BA, Mogridge N. Breast milk feeding and cognitive
ability at 7-8 years. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2001; 84: F23-F27.)

Duration of breast milk feeding

Not breast fed <4 months 4 – 7 months 8+ months
Measure (n=76) (n=99) (n=46) (n=59)
Verbal IQ 94.4 (18.4) 97.2 (18.4) 101.7 (17.3) 104.6 (14.7)
Performance IQ 98.7 (19.6) 101.4 (15.6) 101.1 (14.0) 104.9 (15.3)

a. Assuming Verbal IQ scores are normally distributed, determine the 90% reference range
of Verbal IQ scores for non-breast fed children.

4. The Peak Expiratory Flow Rates (PEFRs) of a group of 11 year girls follows a normal distribution
with mean 300 l/min and a standard deviation of 20 l/min.
State which of the following are TRUE or FALSE

a. about 95% of the girls have PEFR between 260 and 340 l/min
b. 50% of the girls have PEFR above 300 l/min
c. about 5% of girls have PEFR below 260 l/min