Question 6: What is meant by the terms ‘b’, ‘SE(b)’ and ‘95% CI’?
‘b’ is the coefficient of recovery index in a multiple regression equation. It means that for two groups of subjects whose recovery index differs by one unit, and who all have the same age, race, area, and ponderal index, the difference in mean systolic blood pressure will be b units. It is found by the method of least squares.
‘SE(b)’ is the standard error of the estimate of b. Different samples of the same size would give different estimates of b. SE(b) is the estimated standard deviation of the possible estimates of b.
‘95 % CI’ is the 95 % confidence interval for b. For 95% of possible samples, this range of values will include the value of b for the whole population.
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