In a cross-sectional study of heart disease and gender in middle-aged men and women, 10% of men in the sample had prevalent heart disease compared with only 5% of women in the sample. After adjusting for age in multivariate logistic regression, the odds ratio for heart disease comparing males to females was 1.1 (95% confidence interval: 0.79—1.43). What conclusions can you draw?

A) Being male increases your risk of heart disease.
B) Age is a confounder of the relationship between gender and heart disease.
C) The men in the study are younger than the women in the study.

Question

In a cross-sectional study of heart disease and gender in middle-aged men and women, 10% of men in the sample had prevalent heart disease compared with only 5% of women in the sample. After adjusting for age in multivariate logistic regression, the odds ratio for heart disease comparing males to females was 1.1 (95% confidence interval: 0.79—1.43). What conclusions can you draw? 

A) Being male increases your risk of heart disease. 
B) Age is a confounder of the relationship between gender and heart disease. 
C) The men in the study are younger than the women in the study.

anonymous · Answer

B