Progress of statistical analysis in biomedical research through the historical review of the development of the Framingham score

The interest in developing risk models in medicine not only is appealing, but also associated with many obstacles in different aspects of predictive model development. Initially, the association of biomarkers or the association of more markers with the specific outcome was proven by statistical significance, but novel and demanding questions required the development of new and more complex statistical techniques.

Progress of statistical analysis in biomedical research can be observed the best through the history of the Framingham study and development of the Framingham score.

Evaluation of predictive models comes from a combination of the facts which are results of several metrics. Using logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, the calibration test, and the ROC curve analysis should be mandatory and eliminatory, and the central place should be taken by some new statistical techniques. In order to obtain complete information related to the new marker in the model, recently, there is a recommendation to use the reclassification tables by calculating the net reclassification index and the integrated discrimination improvement. Decision curve analysis is a novel method for evaluating the clinical usefulness of a predictive model. It may be noted that customizing and fine-tuning of the Framingham risk score initiated the development of statistical analysis.

Clinically applicable predictive model should be a trade-off between all abovementioned statistical metrics, a trade-off between calibration and discrimination, accuracy and decision-making, costs and benefits, and quality and quantity of patient’s life.