Statistics and risk
Adjustment
A statistical attempt to account for other measured factors.
What it means
Definition
Adjustment: Adjustment can reduce confounding from variables that were measured well. It cannot account for factors that were not measured or were measured inaccurately.
What it can tell you
It can help clarify what sort of evidence or claim is being discussed.
What it cannot tell you
It cannot, by itself, prove that the headline is accurate or clinically important.
Headline trap
Why this matters in headlines
An adjusted association between sleep and mortality may still be influenced by unmeasured illness or lifestyle factors.