All-cause mortality
The share of people dying from any cause over a period, regardless of cause. The book uses it to measure "how long people live". The original literature calls it all-cause mortality, abbreviated ACM
Glossary
Make sense of the numbers.
A quick reference to 41 statistical, health and legal terms used in the book. Look up a term whenever a claim needs a closer reading.
HR
Hazard ratio. The speed at which two groups hit an event (death, illness) over the same time. HR 0.87 means 13% lower than the control group; HR 1.21 means 21% higher
RR
Relative risk. The ratio of event probabilities between two groups; read like HR
OR
Odds ratio. The ratio of odds between two groups; close to RR when events are rare, exaggerates the difference when they are common
IRR
Incidence rate ratio; read like RR
RaR
Rate ratio (e.g. number of falls); read like RR
Standardized mortality ratio
SMR. Actual deaths in a group divided by the expected number computed from the mortality of the general population of the same age. 5.86 means 5.86 times the deaths of peers
Risk difference
The probability of an event in one group minus the other, directly giving "how many extra cases per thousand". Ratios only say how many times; the risk difference says how many more people in absolute terms
95% CI
95% confidence interval. The range where the true value most likely sits. If a ratio-type interval crosses 1, or a difference-type interval crosses 0, the difference may be pure chance and the text will say "not statistically significant"
RCT
Randomized controlled trial. People are randomly split into two groups, one gets the intervention, one does not, and outcomes are compared. The best evidence of causation
Meta-analysis
Pooling the results of multiple studies into one overall estimate
Cohort
Cohort study. A group of people is followed for years to see who has events. Shows association, cannot fully show causation
Observational
Observational study. Researchers only observe, do not intervene; results may be affected by confounding and reverse causation, so discount the numbers
Confounding
A third factor that affects both cause and result, making association look like causation. People who eat more vegetables also tend to exercise more
Reverse causation
Not A causing B, but B causing A. It is not that sleeping a lot makes people die early; it is that seriously ill people sleep a lot
d, g
Effect size. How many standard deviations apart two group means are. 0.2 is small, 0.5 medium, 0.8 large
r
Correlation coefficient. How strongly two things move together, from -1 to 1; 0.1 weak, 0.3 medium, 0.5 strong
MET
Unit of exercise intensity. 1 MET is sitting quietly; brisk walking is about 3 to 4 MET. MET·h is intensity times hours
GRADE
An international standard for grading evidence quality into high, moderate, low, and very low
Intention-to-screen analysis
Counting the effect by "who was invited" rather than "who actually went", which underestimates the effect on those who actually went
Pack-years
A unit of smoking amount. Packs per day times years of smoking; 30 pack-years is one pack a day for 30 years
BMI
Body mass index. Weight (kg) divided by height (m) squared
LDL
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, colloquially "bad cholesterol"
eGFR
Estimated glomerular filtration rate. A measure of how well the kidneys filter, in mL/min/1.73 m²; the lower the number, the worse the kidney function, and chronic kidney disease is staged by it
HBsAg
Hepatitis B surface antigen; positive means infected with hepatitis B
HPV
Human papillomavirus; long-term infection with some types causes cervical cancer
LDCT
Low-dose chest CT, with about one-fifth to one-tenth the radiation of a regular CT
PM2.5
Airborne particulate matter under 2.5 micrometers in diameter
NOVA
A food classification by degree of processing; "ultra-processed food" is its fourth category
LPR
Loan Prime Rate. China's benchmark lending rate, published on the 20th of each month; mortgage and private-lending caps both reference it
One-arbitration-final
The labor arbitration ruling takes effect directly; the employer cannot sue in court
Crude marriage rate, crude divorce rate
Marriages and divorces registered in the year per thousand people. Divorces divided by marriages is another measure, the divorce-to-marriage ratio; do not mix the two
AED
Automated external defibrillator. The red or yellow first-aid box common in public places; turn it on and follow the voice prompts, it decides by itself whether to shock
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Pressing hard on the chest during cardiac arrest to keep blood flowing
CCC
China Compulsory Certification. Products in the catalog may not leave the factory or be sold without this mark
ICP filing
The registration a website or app completes in the MIIT system before going live
Multi-Level Protection Scheme
China's cybersecurity classified protection system; protections are applied according to how important the system is
GPL
An open-source license. Build a product with its code and you generally must open-source your product when distributing
Non-compete
An agreement not to join a competitor for a period after leaving; the company must pay monthly compensation, capped at 2 years
Subscribed capital
The money promised when registering a company. Once promised it must actually be paid in within the statutory deadline; it is not just for show
Deposit vs prepayment
A statutory deposit (dingjin) carries a penalty: the holder who breaches returns double, capped at 20% of the contract; a prepayment (yudingjin) carries no penalty