A double-blind study using random assignment was done of pregnant women in Denmark. Women were given fish oil or a placebo during pregnancy. Their children were followed during the first 5 years of life to see if they developed asthma. The results are summarized in the table. (Bisgaard et al., “Fish Oil-Derived Fatty Acids in Pregnancy and Wheeze and Asthma in Offspring,” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 375: 2530–2539. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1503734)

a. Calculate and compare the percentages of children who developed asthma in the fish oil group and in the placebo group.

b. Check that the conditions for using a two-population confidence interval hold.

c. Find the 95% confidence interval for the difference in the proportion of children who develop asthma in the two groups. Based on your confidence interval, can we conclude that there is a difference in the population proportions?

Transcribed Image Text:

Developed asthma Fish Oil Placebo Yes 58 83 No 288 266