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Statistics

Posted by mvanstralen on 26 Jun 2013 at 12:33 GMT

This is an interesting study.

However, the statistics in table 2 are confusing to me. The percentage change of HABF and HABF(as % of THBF) do not seem to match the absolute values for these measurements at baseline and after the standard meal. For HABF a mean change from 278 ml/min to 171 ml/min is reported, which is -38.5% where -20.2% is reported. For HABF (% of THBF) it changes from 24.5% to 13.9%, a change of 43.3%, where 28.8% is reported. Furthermore, the percentages reported for change in HABF (as % of THBF) differ in the table and the text, -28.8 +/- 43.3% vs. -28.8 +/- 43.2%, respectively.

For the HABF measurements the inconsistencies are most striking, however, the means reported for percentage change do not seem to match any of the absolute changes!

I am not sure how these possible errors would reflect in the p-values and their significances, nor how these differences could alter the conclusions of the paper.

Could you please comment whether these findings are my misinterpretations or actual errors in the statistics?

No competing interests declared.