Hazard ratio, P value, what the.....

Audrey-B

I can't work out those figures, but it's useless even bothering about them as they just get a person worked up. There are a lot of sites on the net which i think are just for medical people and when lay people stumble across them they read too much into them and end up wondering even worse thoughts, which in turn stress/worry them out even more.

Best thing to do is if you think you have herpes, get a type specific blood test or get any sores you are worried about swabbed.

If you have herpes for sure, check out posts on these boards from real people and their experiences.

If you really do want to figure out the chart, then try taking it to a chemist or doctor and they might be able to help you out. If you do find out, let us know.

BTP

Thanks Audrey-B,

I have been tested. But you read so much on how condoms are not completly effective due to "not covering all area where the virus could be". So when I came across this it looks to me like this study showed that if you used condoms correctly and used them more than 65% of the time then the risk of transmission is 0.56 or a 44% reduction of risk. That combined with daily Valtrex seems to be the safest bet. I guess I should have asked the question: If my outbreak site is near the tip of my penis, and completly covered by a condom, does that mean it is safer? When having asymptomatic shedding how far from the site does it shed? I am just looking for answers to be informed so I can allow an informed desicion from a partner.

unlucky_guy

Herpes sheds from the entire genital region...not just the place where your sores develop.

hsvmom

the value P tells researchers if the differences they found are statistically significant. w/o reading the entire article...it looks as if it is saying that there is a statistically significant difference in the hazard ratio between participants who used condoms more than 65% of the time and those that did not.

researchers evaluate differences between groups of participants in terms of statistical significance. they perform statistical analyses and the specific tests helps establish what is cinsidered significant. in all research there are always differences between groups, but the analyses determine if the differences are coincidental or if there's a relationship. if the difference "passes" the test for significance, then we know that there is a relationship, in this case, between condom use >65% and the risk ratio.

if you read a study and dont understand the statistical analysis, skip to the discussion and conclusion sections. the results are usually very technical and require some experimental statistics background.

if you're still interested and have a link to the article, i could read it (and actually would like to...hence the reply to an older post).

__________________
Mom to two HSV-1 survivors!