Using data from epidemiologic studies to revise probabilities.

Abstract

Information about the relationship between risk factors and the probability of disease is often reported by an odds ratio, although its use for revising the probability of disease in a clinical setting is not intuitive and requires complex computations. A somewhat better approach is Bayesian probability revision. The authors present a method where likelihood ratios can be obtained from odds ratios, and they present simple computational methods for implementing all of the techniques described.