Debate
Against quantiles: categorization of continuous variables in epidemiologic research, and its discontents
1 Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program, University of Washington, Box 357630, Seattle, WA 98195-7630, USA
2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 307 E 63 rd St, New York, NY 10065, USA
BMC Medical Research Methodology 2012, 12:21 doi:10.1186/1471-2288-12-21
Published: 29 February 2012Abstract
Background
Quantiles are a staple of epidemiologic research: in contemporary epidemiologic practice, continuous variables are typically categorized into tertiles, quartiles and quintiles as a means to illustrate the relationship between a continuous exposure and a binary outcome.
Discussion
In this paper we argue that this approach is highly problematic and present several potential alternatives. We also discuss the perceived drawbacks of these newer statistical methods and the possible reasons for their slow adoption by epidemiologists.
Summary
The use of quantiles is often inadequate for epidemiologic research with continuous variables.
