Researchers in rheumatology should avoid categorization of continuous predictor variables

Rheumatology researchers often categorize continuous predictor variables. We aimed to show how this practice may alter results from observational studies in rheumatology. We conducted and compared the results of two analyses of the association between our predictor variable (percentage change in bod...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC medical research methodology 2023-04, Vol.23 (1), p.104-104, Article 104
Main Authors: Salis, Zubeyir, Gallego, Blanca, Sainsbury, Amanda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arthritis
Body Mass Index
Categorization 1
Covariate 4
Diagnosis
Dichotomization 2
Evaluation
Hip joint
Humans
Knee
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Observational studies
Osteoarthritis
Pain
Predictor Variable 3
Radiography
Regression analysis
Rheumatic diseases
Rheumatology
Risk factors
Variables
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Summary:Rheumatology researchers often categorize continuous predictor variables. We aimed to show how this practice may alter results from observational studies in rheumatology. We conducted and compared the results of two analyses of the association between our predictor variable (percentage change in body mass index [BMI] from baseline to four years) and two outcome variable domains of structure and pain in knee and hip osteoarthritis. These two outcome variable domains covered 26 different outcomes for knee and hip combined. In the first analysis (categorical analysis), percentage change in BMI was categorized as ≥ 5% decrease in BMI,
ISSN:1471-2288
1471-2288
DOI:10.1186/s12874-023-01926-4