RELATIVE RISK

• Relative risk is a group of terms used to describe disease association.

• It includes the following;
• Incidence rate ratio/Hazard ratio
(percent increase or decrease in the rate of outcome)
• Risk ratio
(percent increase or decrease in the risk or prevalence of the outcome)
• Odds ratio
(percent increase or decrease in the odds of the outcome)
 INTERPRETING RELATIVE RISKS

• 1 = NULL VALUE (NO DIFFERENCE)

• < 1 = PROTECTIVE EFFECT(DECREASED RISK)
• > 1 = HARMFUL EFFECT (INCREASED RISK)
• For example take the effect of 2 drugs A and B on GI events
• Incidence rate for drug A = 2.1 events per 100 person-years
• Incidence rate for drug B = 4.5 events per 100 person years
• Therefore incidence rate ratio of A:B is 2.1/4.5 = 0.46
• This can be interpreted as Drug A reduces the incidence rate of GI
events by 54 percent ( 1 – 0.46 = 0.54)
• In the same example of drugs A and B the cumulative risk is as
follows;
• Drug A = 1.38 %
• Drug B = 3.00%
• Therefore Risk Ratio is 1.38 / 3.00 = 0.46
• In this example the risk ratio and incidence rate ratio are the same as
the two drugs A and B had the same number of follow up i.e. 100
person years.
Here Drug A =
rofecoxib
and
Drug B = naproxen
There is rounding of
0.46 to 0.5