What is the relative risk of developing gastritis from herring consumption?
Change Image Delete
An outbreak of gastritis occurred on a cruise ship. The data in the following table were obtained shortly after the outbreak, from a questionnaire completed by everyone on board the ship.
Relative risk (RR) = Risk in exposed/Risk in unexposed
And, Risk = Number of cases (d)/ Total number of people at risk (N)
Therefore, RR for developing gastritis from herring consumption = Risk in Ate/ Risk in Did not eat
= (200/1000)/(100/1000)
= 2.0
NOTE: The risk can be calculated here because the total number of people who were at risk for falling ill is known. If the total number of people at risk of falling ill say in a situation where a certain food chain is contaminated then one cannot calculate risk but the odds of exposure is calculated instead (which should approximate the risk).