Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis

TRUTHS AND MYTHS ABOUT THE MUSHROOM Agaricus blazei

The mushroom Agaricus blazei Murrill was discovered in Piedade, state of São Paulo, Brazil, and sent to Japan to be studied for its medicinal properties. Studies in guinea pigs revealed antitumor properties, triggering Japanese importation of A. blazei from Brazil. Because of its high price on the international market, many companies and rural growers produce A. blazei as alternative crop to in...

A Look at the Myths and Half-truths about Profit and Non-profit Hospital Performance

How and why criteria defining moderators and mediators differ between the Baron & Kenny and MacArthur approaches.

OBJECTIVE In recognition of the increasingly important role of moderators and mediators in clinical research, clear definitions are sought of the two terms to avoid inconsistent, ambiguous, and possibly misleading results across clinical research studies. DESIGN The criteria used to define moderators and mediators proposed by the Baron & Kenny approach, which have been long used in social/beh...

Lessons from structure-function studies in asthma: myths and truths about what we teach.

Asthma is a syndrome that is distinguished and diagnosed on the basis of abnormalities of pulmonary function (7). Patients with asthma should exhibit airflow obstruction characterized by periodic falls in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), airflow obstruction that responds or normalizes to a bronchodilator, and airway hyperresponsiveness. Accordingly, asthma is unique among pulmonary disea...

Myths and plain truths about schizophrenia epidemiology--the NAPE lecture 2004.

OBJECTIVE Science needs to constantly match research models against the data. With respect to the epidemiology of schizophrenia, the widely held belief that the incidence of schizophrenia shows little variation may no longer be supported by the data. The aims of this paper are (i) to explore data-vs.-belief mismatch with respect to the incidence of schizophrenia, and (ii) to speculate on the ca...