Measure up

A review published in the BMJ takes a look at the measures used in reporting health inequalities.  It finds that most studies use relative measures of effect rather than absolute, which, as the study's authors point out "may influence readers’ judgments of the magnitude, direction, significance, and implications of reported health inequalities."  It should be noted that the review is a bit of a straw poll, as it only covered one year's worth of research in 10 leading medical, pulic health and epidemiology journals.