Be Aware of Health Statistics

Abstract

          This article discusses the importance of health statistics literacy, which affects decision-making among patients and medical personnel, especially in the context of disease screening, statistical data communication, and the influence of various statistical values ​​that may lead to misunderstandings, such as relative risk, absolute risk, conditional probability, and biases in the use of statistical data (Bias) such as lead time bias and overdiagnosis bias. The article also discusses the problems of using statistical numbers that mislead the public and doctors, such as cancer screening advertisements that give the image that early detection increases survival rates regardless of mortality rates. It also discusses the use of tumor markers such as CEA and PSA, which may lead to unnecessary diagnoses, anxiety, and unnecessary overdiagnosis and overtreatment. To create a correct understanding of health statistics, the article proposes guidelines for communicating correct statistical data, including presenting risk values ​​in an easy-to-understand format, such as absolute risk values ​​instead of relative risk values, using natural numbers to explain probability instead of percentages, and using diagrams to help explain so that the public can make more rational decisions.