Evidence glossary

The words behind health claims.

Short definitions for terms used across Kadomony. These explanations are reading aids, not complete statistical or clinical standards.

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Absolute risk

The chance that an outcome occurs in a group over a stated period, such as 3 people out of 100.

An unwanted medical occurrence during care or a study; it is not automatically caused by the treatment.

A pattern in which two things occur together more or less often than expected; it does not by itself prove cause.

A systematic feature of a study or process that can push an estimate away from the truth.

Keeping participants, clinicians, or assessors unaware of assigned treatment to reduce expectation-related bias.

A relationship in which changing one factor contributes to changing an outcome, beyond merely being associated.

Whether an effect is large or important enough to matter to people, which is different from statistical significance.

A range showing the uncertainty around an estimate under the assumptions of the statistical method.

Distortion that occurs when another factor is related to both the exposure and outcome being studied.

A situation in which a treatment or procedure should not be used because its risk is unacceptably high.

A result defined in advance that a study measures, such as symptoms, hospitalization, or death.

How confident reviewers are that an estimated effect is close enough to the truth for a particular decision.

A statistical method that combines compatible results from multiple studies; its quality depends on the included evidence.

The number of people who need a treatment for a stated time for one additional person to benefit compared with a control.

A probability calculated under a statistical model; it does not show the size, importance, or probability that a claim is true.

Assigning participants to groups by chance to make groups more comparable and reduce selection bias.

A ratio comparing risk between groups; it should be read with the underlying absolute risks.

Testing people without recognized symptoms to find a condition or risk earlier; screening can also cause false alarms and overdiagnosis.

A process in which a person and care team combine evidence, clinical knowledge, goals, preferences, and circumstances.

Care that relieves symptoms, preserves function, or improves quality of life alongside or apart from disease-directed treatment.

A review that uses predefined methods to search for, select, assess, and synthesize all eligible evidence for a question.

Reference standards