Bimodality and Other Complications in the Assessment of Human Interindividual Variability. R. Goble, D. Hattis, and P. Banati, Center for Technology, Environment, and Development, George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark University, Worcester, MA
The assessment of interindividual variability among humans responding to toxic exposures is an essential analytical tool for determining the protectiveness of standards and other approaches to lowering risk. Much information is now available on differences between people for many kinds of responses. In many cases the data are reasonably described by lognormal distributions. However, in some circumstances it is reasonable to expect bimodal distributions or other deviations from lognormality. Such deviations may be difficult to detect with confidence, yet, if present, they can have important implications in assessing risk. We explore both the problem of detection and the implications for assessing risk using simulations designed to inform the analysis of data sets collected on interindividual variability for a number of key pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters.
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