Relative risk (RR)
RR = ratio of incidence of disease in exposed individuals
to the incidence of disease in non-exposed individuals
(from a cohort/prospective study)
Relative risk or risk ratio (RR) is the ratio of the probability
of an event occurring ( eg:developing of an ADR to a drug)
in an exposed group to the probability of the event
occurring in nonexposed group.
(OR)
Compares the risk of a health event among one group with
the risk among another group.
Includes 2 features:
A comparison of risk
between two “exposure”
puts risks in context , and
“exposure” is ensured
by having proper
denominators for each
group representing the
exposure
Relative Risk Calculation
RR = incidence in exposed
Incidence in non-exposed
It is a ratio of two risks, the risk of the outcome/event in the treated group compared
with the outcome in those not exposed(control group).
RR = Proportion of events in experimental group/proportion of events in control
group.
RR above 1 indicates treatment/exposure is associated with the outcome and below
1 means that the treatment is negatively associated with the outcome.
When the rate in the exposed group is equal to the rate in the
comparison group RR will be equal to 1.
An RR of 2 means that the rate in the exposed group is twice that in the non-exposed
group.
An RR of 0.5 means that the rate in the exposed persons is half that of non-exposed
persons.
If RR > 1, there is a positive association
If RR < 1, there is a negative association
Measure of association
relative risk
odds ratio
Type of study Measure of association
Cross-sectional study Odds ratio
Case-control study Odds ratio
Cohort study Relative risk
Intervention study Odds ratio/Relative risk
Example: Smoking & MI
Out of total 500 individuals, 80 are smoking & among 125 MI
patients 45 are smoking, find out is there any association
between occurrence of MI & smoking?
Construct a 2×2 contingency table
Myocardial ischemia
Smoking Total
Yes No
Yes 45 35 80
No 80 340 420
Total 125 375 500
Calculation of Relative risk (RR)
• Interpretation of RR: Smokers are at 2.95 times greater risk of
developing MI than non-smokers