Question
Please read the first 3 pages of following article and answer the corresponding questions: Doll R, Hill AB. Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking. BMJ 1956;1071-81.
Though it is not required, we encourage you to read the entire paper if you are interested because it is widely considered one of the seminal papers in epidemiology.
Is the cohort described in this paper open or closed?
What was the exposure and how were subjects classified? What is a disadvantage, if any, of classifying exposure this way?
What was the primary outcome of concern, and how was it determined?
Based on Table 5 in the article, what is the appropriate measure of association for quantifying the relationship between smoking and death?
Using data from Table 5, calculate the measure of association from part d, comparing the rates of deaths due to lung cancer among non-smokers to the rates of death due to lung cancer among all smokers.
Interpret the measure calculated in part e.
Source: 250A problem set week 5
