The spectrum effect in tests for risk prediction, screening, and diagnosis.
review · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27334281.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1136/bmj.i3139 and PMC identifier 4916916.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The spectrum effect describes the variation between settings in performance of tests used to predict, screen for, and diagnose disease. In particular, the predictive use of a test may be different when it is applied in a general population rather than in the study sample in which it was first developed. This article discusses the impact of the spectrum effect on measures of test performance, and its implications for the development, evaluation, application, and implementation of such tests.
Medical subject headings
- Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures
- Likelihood Functions
- Sensitivity and Specificity