Statistical methods in the journal.

To the Editor: Previous surveys, in 1978 to 1979 and in 1989, of Original Articles published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed increasing sophistication of statistical methods over time.1,2 The use of more sophisticated statistical methods may challenge clinicians' comprehension of new research and could slow dissemination of study results. We have updated the findings with data from 311 articles published in volumes 350 through 352 (January 2004 through June 2005). For each article, we reviewed the Methods section and scanned the Results section and supplemental appendixes for statistical content according to the set of categories used . . .