ArticleThe open epidemiology journal2012
At Odds: Concerns Raised by Using Odds Ratios for Continuous or Common Dichotomous Outcomes in Research on Physical Activity and Obesity.
Article in The open epidemiology journal, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed.
- Modifiable Risk Factors and Hearing Loss: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2020.Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery · 2026Article
- Predicting 7-year-olds mental health in the perinatal period: Development and internal validation of a multivariable model using the prospective ALSPAC cohort.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Application of modified Poisson regression for risk estimation of major neuropathology outcomes: National Alzheimer's coordinating center.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2025Article
- Differences in Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration by Migration History in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.Breastfeeding medicine : the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine · 2024Article
- Examining concordance of sexual-related factors and PrEP eligibility with HIV risk perception among adolescent girls and young women: cross-sectional insights from DREAMS sites in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and BMI: Lifecourse Associations in a Black-White U.S. Women Cohort.American journal of preventive medicine · 2024Article
- Oral PrEP Consultations Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Kisumu County, Kenya: Insights from the DREAMS Program.AIDS and behavior · 2022Article
- Who is meeting the strengthening physical activity guidelines by definition: A cross-sectional study of 253 423 English adults?PloS one · 2022Article
- The Moderating Effect of Physical Activity on the Relationship between Sleep and Emotional Distress and the Difference between Blacks and Whites: A Secondary Data Analysis Using the National Health Interview Survey from 2005-2015.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Creating HIV risk profiles for men in South Africa: a latent class approach using cross-sectional survey data.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2020Article
- Neighborhood Recreation Facilities and Facility Membership Are Jointly Associated with Objectively Measured Physical Activity.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2019Article
- Physical Activity in the Prevention of Weight Gain: the Impact of Measurement and Interpretation of Associations.Current obesity reports · 2019Review
- The Association Between Risk Behaviors and Race/Ethnicity on Dental Visiting Among High School Students in Hawai'i: Hawai'i Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2013, 2015.Hawai'i journal of medicine & public health : a journal of Asia Pacific Medicine & Public Health · 2019Article
- Self-rated health and its association with perceived environmental hazards, the social environment, and cultural stressors in an environmental justice population.BMC public health · 2018Article
- Neonatal systemic inflammation and the risk of low scores on measures of reading and mathematics achievement at age 10 years among children born extremely preterm.International journal of developmental neuroscience : the official journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience · 2018Article
- Barriers to medication adherence and links to cardiovascular disease risk factor control: the Framingham Heart Study.Internal medicine journal · 2018Observational
- The association between park facilities and the occurrence of physical activity during park visits.Journal of leisure research · 2018Article
- Prevalence and Attitudes Regarding Marijuana Use Among Adolescents Over the Past Decade.Pediatrics · 2017Article
- Mammographic Appearances in Mongolia: Causal Factors for Varying DensitiesAsian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2017Article
- Newborn blood gas derangements of children born extremely preterm and neurocognitive dysfunctions at age 10 years.Respiratory physiology & neurobiology · 2017Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeResearch on obesity and the built environment has often featured logistic regression and the corresponding parameter, the odds ratio. Use of odds ratios for common outcomes such obesity may unnecessarily hinder the validity, interpretation, and communication of research findings.
methodsWe identified three key issues raised by the use of odds ratios, illustrating them with data on walkability and body mass index from a study of 13,102 New York City residents.
resultsFirst, dichotomization of continuous measures such as body mass index discards theoretically relevant information, reduces statistical power, and amplifies measurement error. Second, odds ratios are systematically higher (further from the null) than prevalence ratios; this inflation is trivial for rare outcomes, but substantial for common outcomes like obesity. Third, odds ratios can lead to incorrect conclusions during tests of interactions. The odds ratio in a particular subgroup might higher simply because the outcome is more common (and the odds ratio inflated) compared with other subgroups.
conclusionOur recommendations are to take full advantage of continuous outcome data when feasible and to use prevalence ratios in place of odds ratios for common dichotomous outcomes. When odds ratios must be used, authors should document outcome prevalence across exposure groups.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.