openintro (version 2.4.0)

simpsons_paradox_covid: Simpson's Paradox: Covid

Description

A dataset on Delta Variant Covid-19 cases in the UK. This dataset gives a great example of Simpson's Paradox. When aggregating results without regard to age group, the death rate for vaccinated individuals is higher -- but they have a much higher risk population. Once we look at populations with more comparable risks (breakout age groups), we see that the vaccinated group tends to be lower risk in each risk-bucketed group and that many of the higher risk patients had gotten vaccinated. The dataset was brought to OpenIntro's attention by Matthew T. Brenneman of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Note: some totals in the original source differ as there were some cases that did not have ages associated with them.

Usage

simpsons_paradox_covid

Format

A data frame with 286,166 rows and 3 variables:

age_group

Age of the person. Levels: under 50, 50 +.

vaccine_status

Vaccination status of the person. Note: the vaccinated group includes those who were only partially vaccinated. Levels: vaccinated, unvaccinated

outcome

Did the person die from the Delta variant? Levels: death and survived.

Examples

library(dplyr)
library(scales)
# Calculate the mortality rate for all cases by vaccination status
simpsons_paradox_covid %>%
 group_by(vaccine_status, outcome) %>%
 summarize(count = n()) %>%
 ungroup() %>%
 group_by(vaccine_status) %>%
 mutate(total = sum(count)) %>%
 filter(outcome == "death") %>%
 select(c(vaccine_status, count, total)) %>%
 mutate(mortality_rate = label_percent(accuracy = 0.01)(round(count / total, 4))) %>%
 select(-c(count, total))

# Calculate mortality rate by age group and vaccination status
simpsons_paradox_covid %>%
 group_by(age_group, vaccine_status, outcome) %>%
 summarize(count = n()) %>%
 ungroup() %>%
 group_by(age_group, vaccine_status) %>%
 mutate(total = sum(count)) %>%
 filter(outcome == "death") %>%
 select(c(age_group, vaccine_status, count, total)) %>%
 mutate(mortality_rate = label_percent(accuracy = 0.01)(round(count / total, 4))) %>%
 select(-c(count, total))