Odds Ratio (2024)

Odds Ratio (1) Time to read: 2 minutes

Odds Ratio (2)

Odds of an event happening is defined as the likelihood that an event will occur, expressed as a proportion of the likelihood that the event will not occur. Therefore, if A is the probability of subjects affected and B is the probability of subjects not affected, then odds = A /B.

Therefore, the odds of rolling four on dice are 1/5 or an implied probability of 20%. [Note this is not the same as probability which would be 1/6 = 16.66%]

Odds Ratio (OR) is a measure of association between exposure and an outcome. The OR represents the odds that an outcome will occur given a particular exposure, compared to the odds of the outcome occurring in the absence of that exposure.

Important points about Odds ratio:

  • Calculated in case-control studies as the incidence of outcome is not known
  • OR >1 indicates increased occurrence of an event
  • OR <1 indicates decreased occurrence of an event (protective exposure)
  • Look at CI and P-value for statistical significance of value (Learn more about p values and confidence intervals here)
  • In rare outcomes OR = RR (RR = Relative Risk). This applies when the incidence of the disease is < 10%

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CLINICAL EXAMPLE AND CALCULATION

In a study examining the association between estrogen (exposure) and endometrial carcinoma (outcome), the two by two table is shown below.

Learning point: In a two by two table, for ease of calculation ensure that the outcome of interest is always at the top and the exposure on the left.

Odds Ratio (3)

Interpretation

According to the tablet above, individuals with endometrial cancer are 4.42 times more likely to be exposed to estrogen than those without endometrial carcinoma.

Learning point: It is not appropriate to interpret this as ‘Individuals with estrogen exposure are 4.42 times more likely to develop Endometrial cancer than those without exposure.’ The reason is that a case-control study begins from outcome i.e. selection of a sample with the outcome of interest which in this case is endometrial cancer.

ODDS RATIO VIDEO - CHOCOLATE CONSUMPTION AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

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Learn More:

  1. P values and confidence intervals
  2. Understanding probabilities in medicine

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Odds Ratio (2024)

FAQs

Odds Ratio? ›

What is an odds ratio? An odds ratio (OR) is a measure of association between an exposure and an outcome. The OR represents the odds that an outcome will occur given a particular exposure, compared to the odds of the outcome occurring in the absence of that exposure.

What does an odds ratio of 1.5 mean? ›

As an example, if the odds ratio is 1.5, the odds of disease after being exposed are 1.5 times greater than the odds of disease if you were not exposed another way to think of it is that there is a 50% increase in the odds of disease if you are exposed.

What does the odds ratio tell you? ›

Odds ratios frequently are used to present strength of association between risk factors and outcomes in the clinical literature. Odds and odds ratios are related to the probability of a binary outcome (an outcome that is either present or absent, such as mortality).

What does an odds ratio of 2.0 mean? ›

Here it is in plain language. An OR of 1.2 means there is a 20% increase in the odds of an outcome with a given exposure. An OR of 2 means there is a 100% increase in the odds of an outcome with a given exposure. Or this could be stated that there is a doubling of the odds of the outcome.

Is a higher OR lower odds ratio better? ›

An odds ratio greater than 1 indicates that the condition or event is more likely to occur in the first group. And an odds ratio less than 1 indicates that the condition or event is less likely to occur in the first group.

What does an odds ratio of 0.7 mean? ›

If the Odds ratio is 0.7 then it indicates a protective effect - I.e a reduced odds of exposure in case vs control group. That reduced risk is 1-odds so will be 30 percent reduced risk fo exposure. statistical significance is linked to the p-value or CI- which we cannot infer from only the odds ratio.

What does a risk ratio of 0.75 mean? ›

2c) A risk ratio of 0.75 means there is an inverse association, i.e. there is a decreased risk for the health outcome among the exposed group when compared with the unexposed group. The exposed group has 0.75 times the risk of having the health outcome when compared with the unexposed group.

How do you interpret odds ratio estimates? ›

An odds ratio estimate of, say, 2 means that the odds of the event for the group in the numerator is twice the event odds for the group in the denominator. If you want to interpret it as a percent change from the denominator group, use the odds ratio minus 1 and then multiply by 100.

Which odds ratio is strongest? ›

An odds ratio of 4 or more is pretty strong and not likely to be able to be explained away by some unmeasured variables. An odds ratio bigger than 2 and less than 4 is possibly important and should be looked at very carefully.

When to use odds ratio vs risk ratio? ›

“Risk” refers to the probability of occurrence of an event or outcome. Statistically, risk = chance of the outcome of interest/all possible outcomes. The term “odds” is often used instead of risk. “Odds” refers to the probability of occurrence of an event/probability of the event not occurring.

Are 1 to 2 odds good? ›

1 in 2 means a 50% chance. So, when you buy 5 or any number for that matter, there are 2 outcomes; win or loose, which can be translated as a 50% chance, either way. However, if you pick 5 from 100 numbers, your chance of winning is 1 in 100.

How to read odds? ›

Simply put, the greater the odds against a team, the larger the payout will be for anyone who bets on it. For example, 7 to 2 odds mean that for every $2 you wager, you could win $7 if your bet is successful, while 5 to 1 odds mean you could win $5 for every $1 you bet.

What is the difference between likelihood ratio and odds ratio? ›

The odds ratio is the effect of going from “knowing the test negative” to “knowing it's positive” whereas the likelihood ratio + is the effect of going from an unknown state to knowing the test is +.

Can you convert odds ratio to percentage? ›

As other answers have clearly articulated, you can't represent an odds ratio as a simple percent increase or decrease of an event happening, as this value depends on the baserate. However, if you have a meaningful baserate, you can calculate the percent success (or failure) relative to that rate.

What does a ratio of 1.5 mean? ›

What Does a Current Ratio of 1.5 Mean? A current ratio of 1.5 would indicate that the company has $1.50 of current assets for every $1 of current liabilities. For example, suppose a company's current assets consist of $50,000 in cash plus $100,000 in accounts receivable.

What does over 1.5 odds mean? ›

Betting Over 1.5 goals means you are predicting that there will be at least 2 goals scored in the match. The half-goal (. 5) ensures that each bet will have a definite outcome as it's impossible to score half a goal in a soccer match.

What does 1.50 odds mean? ›

If you were to bet $10 on 1.50 odds you would receive $5.00 in profit if this outcome won. To work out how much money you will receive back when betting on decimal odds you multiply your stake (bet amount) by the odds: $10 x 1.50 = $15.00 Total Payout ($5.00 profit). The implied win probability of 1.50 odds is 66.67%.

What does a 1.5 hazard ratio mean? ›

If the ratio is 1 that means that the risks are the same. If it is greater than 1, then the risk is higher, and vice versa. The drug is usually the denominator, so 1.5 means for example, that the risk of dying is higher on the drug by about 50%.

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