Statistical analysis errors in the medical literature

An article in this month's Archives of Dermatology examines errors in statistical analysis and in reporting of results of such analyses in published, peer-reviewed articles from two dermatology journals during a one-year period. The investigators found that 59 papers (38.1%) contained errors or omissions related to the statistical analyses, finding that

• 22 (14.2%) contained errors that could affect the validity of the study’s results
• 41 (26.5%) contained errors in presentation of study results
• 4 (2.6%) contained errors in both areas

Neville JA, Lang W, Fleischer AB Jr. Errors in the Archives of Dermatology and the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology from January through December 2003. Arch Dermatol 2006;142:737-40.