I Application: Drug Trials
Discuss the questions below in Discussion: Explaining Simpson's Paradox
A company runs two trials of two treatments for an illness. In the first trial, Treatment A cures 20% of the cases (40 out
of 200) and Treatment B cures 15% of the cases (30 out of 200). In the second trial, Treatment A cures 85% of the cases
(85 out of 100) and Treatment B cures 75% of the cases (300 out of 400).
a) Calculate the overall cure rate for Treatment A and Treatment B.
Treatment A overall:
%
Treatment B overall:
%
b) Which treatment had the better cure rate in the two trials individually?
Which treatment had the better cure rate overall?
Explain the apparent inconsistency in these results.