Abstract: The article focuses on the significance of statistical thinking in understanding the risks and uncertainities related to medical field. It is stated that if people want to make informed decisions, they have to understand health statistics. It is reported that absolute risks are more informative than relative risks as relative risks create undue anxiety. The mortality rates are reliable indicators of screening and changes in five-year survival rates have no reliability because of overdiagnosis.

Keywords: medical statistics, medical screening, morality, health status indicators, anxiety

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