Question

The following experiment was carried out to evaluate a drug for the prevention of heart attacks. The subjects were 3,900 middle-aged men with heart trouble. Out of these men, 1,100 were assigned at random to receive the drug, and the remaining 2,800 were given a placebo. The subjects were followed for five years. In the group that received the drug, there were 220 deaths; in the control group, 2 there were 588 deaths. The 220 is 20% of the treatment group and the 588 is 21% of the control group. Someone argues as follows: “A one-percentage-point difference may not seem like much, but 1% of a million, for example, is 10,000. The drug will save tens of thousands of lives.” Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Explain and show mathematically. (15 points)

Answer 1