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Comparing biomarker measurements to a normal range: when to use standard error of the mean (SEM) or standard deviation (SD) confidence intervals tests
Citation:
Pleil, J. Comparing biomarker measurements to a normal range: when to use standard error of the mean (SEM) or standard deviation (SD) confidence intervals tests. BIOMARKERS. Taylor & Francis, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, 21(3):195-199, (2016).
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory’s (NERL’s) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD’s research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA’s strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools is improved regulatory programs and policies for EPA.
Description:
This commentary is the second of a series outlining one specific concept in interpreting biomarkers data. In the first, an observational method was presented for assessing the distribution of measurements before making parametric calculations. Here, the discussion revolves around the next step, the choice of using standard error of the mean or the calculated standard deviation to compare or predict measurement results.
