USE OF THE ODDS RATIO TO TRANSLATE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST-SCORES INTO REAL-WORLD OUTCOMES - FROM STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE TO CLINICAL-SIGNIFICANCE

Standard parametric tests generate p values and effect sizes, but ofte n these are difficult to translate into real-world outcomes. In this s tudy, the odds ratio was applied to neuropsychological testing and was compared to parametric approaches. Participants were 26 community-dwe lling adults with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease and 25 matc hed healthy community-dwelling volunteers. Odds ratios were computed t o estimate the probability of concurrent diagnosis given neuropsycholo gical performance level. Odds ratios discriminated the groups at magni tudes that could not be discerned from t-test significance tables. The se values were compared to sensitivity, specificity, and overall accur acy. Clinical and research applications and implications were addresse d.