Twenty students volunteered to participate in a study on
colds. Ten were randomly assigned to receive vitamin C, and the
remaining 10 received a tablet that looked and tasted like vitamin
C but in fact contained only sugar and flavoring. The students did
not know whether they were taking vitamin C or not, but the
investigators did. The students were followed for 2 months to see
who came down with a cold and who didn't. At the end of the study,
4 students taking the sugar tablet came down with a cold and only 1
student taking vitamin C came down with a cold.
1. One of the investigators mentioned that
lifestyle of the patient could potentially be a confounding
variable in this study: that a person who lives a healthier
lifestyle would make it so the Vitamin C is more likely to work and
then living a healthier lifestyle would mean they'd have less of a
chance that they'd develop a cold.
Do you agree or disagree with this
statement?
Explain your reasoning in one
or two sentences: