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Understanding Absolute vs. Relative Risk

The document discusses absolute and relative risk. Absolute risk measures the likelihood of an outcome over time without comparison, while relative risk compares the likelihood between two groups. It provides examples showing that absolute risk conveys the actual probability of an event, while relative risk indicates how many times more likely one group is to experience that event compared to another. The document emphasizes the importance of understanding the difference between these concepts.

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surabhispr
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Topics covered

  • health education,
  • risk interpretation,
  • risk literacy,
  • health statistics,
  • decision making,
  • health risk communication,
  • cancer risk,
  • health outcomes,
  • public understanding,
  • risk perception
77 views10 pages

Understanding Absolute vs. Relative Risk

The document discusses absolute and relative risk. Absolute risk measures the likelihood of an outcome over time without comparison, while relative risk compares the likelihood between two groups. It provides examples showing that absolute risk conveys the actual probability of an event, while relative risk indicates how many times more likely one group is to experience that event compared to another. The document emphasizes the importance of understanding the difference between these concepts.

Uploaded by

surabhispr
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Topics covered

  • health education,
  • risk interpretation,
  • risk literacy,
  • health statistics,
  • decision making,
  • health risk communication,
  • cancer risk,
  • health outcomes,
  • public understanding,
  • risk perception

“ The need of absolute and relative

comparison. ”

1
What is risk?
 In epidemiology, risk has been defined as “the probability of an event during
a specified period of time”

 The media often mentions risk when reporting on research, but this can
sometimes be misleading

 Risk can be explained in terms of absolute or relative risk

2
Absolute Risk
 Measures the likelihood of a particular outcome, such as developing
a disease, over a period of time, it doesn’t guarantee it will

 To determine the rates of disease by person, place, time

 Absolute risk- Incidence and prevalence

 According to Cancer Research UK, the absolute risk for developing bowel
cancer is around 5%, meaning 5 in every 100 people would be expected
to develop bowel cancer even without eating a large bacon sandwich
daily

3
Relative Risk
 Relative risk is a comparison between two groups of people, or in the
same group of people over time

 It can be expressed as a ratio

 To identify the risk factors for the disease

 Relative Risk= Incidence among exposed/Incidence among non exposed

4
Example of RR
 In an outbreak of varicella (chickenpox) in Oregon in 2002, varicella was
diagnosed in 18 of 152 vaccinated children compared with 3 of 7
unvaccinated children. Calculate the risk ratio.

 Risk of varicella among vaccinated children = 18 ⁄ 152 = 0.118 = 11.8%


Risk of varicella among unvaccinated children = 3 ⁄ 7 = 0.429 = 42.9%

Risk ratio = 0.118 ⁄ 0.429 = 0.28


5
Absolute vs. Relative Risk

6
Absolute and Relative
Risk

Example 1-

7
Example 2 -

Attributable Risk-
If 1 in 10 individuals with exposure develops the disease= 10%
and 1 in 100 individuals without exposure develop the disease= 1%

Relative Risk= 0.1/0.01= 10

Interpretation
Therefore, an individual has a 10% chance of developing the disease with
exposure (absolute risk), a 1% chance of developing the disease without
exposure (absolute risk), and they are 10 times more likely to develop the
disease if they have exposure (relative risk)

8
Risk communication
 Framing of a risk statistic

- The size of the denominator and numerator can magnify risk perception

- In one study, those told a particular type of cancer kills 2,414 out of 10,000
rated it deadlier than another, killing 24.14 out of 100

 How we communicate and interpret risk?

 Media headlines saying something “doubles your risk of cancer”

 It is vital that the general public understand the difference between


absolute and relative risk

9
To Summarize
 Relative risk  Absolute risk

• are better to assess the efficacy • are better to take decisions about
of a treatment a treatment

• help us find disparities, like if one • perspective how much benefit an


group is having better outcomes individual is likely to have from a
than another treatment

• how much more likely one group • the likelihood or probability


is to experience an outcome than of a particular event, such
another as developing a disease

10

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