Friday, October 28, 2016

GOOD ABSTRACT: Calcium Intake and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Calcium intake of 2000 to 2500 mg/d, regardless of source (diet vs supplements) is not associated with CVD risk in generally healthy adults. Ann Intern Med. 2016 Oct 25;

Comment: This is an example of a fair to good abstract. The notable feature of this abstract is that it includes a section on Primary Funding Source, so readers can help determine possible funding bias. Better form would have been for the authors to capitalize each section heading.

This systemic review and meta-analysis included the following sections: 
  • Background
  • Purpose
  • Data Sources
  • Study Selection
  • Data Extraction
  • Data Synthesis
  • Limitations
  • Conclusion
  • Primary Funding Source

Friday, October 14, 2016

GOOD ABSTRACT: Vitamin D is inversely related to risk of pre-eclampsia and preterm birth

Vitamin D, pre-eclampsia, and preterm birth among pregnancies at high risk for pre-eclampsia: an analysis of data from a low-dose aspirin trial.

As maternal vitamin D status in the second trimester increased, the risk of early-onset pre-eclampsia and preterm birth decreased in women at high risk for pre-eclampsia. BJOG. 2016 Oct 5;:

Comment: This is an example of a GOOD ABSTRACT. The sections are clearly demarcated and the abstract is easily readable. This is the first research article containing a section called Tweetable Abstract. Nice!

Monday, October 10, 2016

A Tutorial on Hunting Statistical Significance by Chasing N

False positive findings (Type I errors) are greatly increased by repeated statistical testing and by manipulation of study groups post hoc. Front. Psychol., 22 September 2016