Math Problem Statement

A certain disease has an incidence rate of 0.2%. If the false negative rate is 8% and the false positive rate is 4%, compute the probability that a person who tests positive actually has the disease.

Solution

This problem involves calculating the probability that a person who tests positive for a disease actually has the disease. This is a classic example of applying Bayes' Theorem.

Let's define the following:

  • P(D)P(D) = Probability that a person has the disease = 0.2% = 0.002
  • P(¬D)P(\neg D) = Probability that a person does not have the disease = 1 - 0.002 = 0.998
  • P(PosD)P(\text{Pos} | D) = Probability of testing positive given the person has the disease = 1 - false negative rate = 1 - 0.08 = 0.92
  • P(Pos¬D)P(\text{Pos} | \neg D) = Probability of testing positive given the person does not have the disease = false positive rate = 0.04
  • P(Pos)P(\text{Pos}) = Total probability of testing positive (to be computed).

We are asked to find the probability that a person who tests positive actually has the disease, which is: P(DPos)=P(PosD)P(D)P(Pos)P(D | \text{Pos}) = \frac{P(\text{Pos} | D) P(D)}{P(\text{Pos})}

To calculate P(Pos)P(\text{Pos}), we use the law of total probability: P(Pos)=P(PosD)P(D)+P(Pos¬D)P(¬D)P(\text{Pos}) = P(\text{Pos} | D) P(D) + P(\text{Pos} | \neg D) P(\neg D) Substituting the known values: P(Pos)=(0.92×0.002)+(0.04×0.998)P(\text{Pos}) = (0.92 \times 0.002) + (0.04 \times 0.998) P(Pos)=0.00184+0.03992=0.04176P(\text{Pos}) = 0.00184 + 0.03992 = 0.04176

Now, using Bayes' Theorem: P(DPos)=0.92×0.0020.04176=0.001840.041760.04406P(D | \text{Pos}) = \frac{0.92 \times 0.002}{0.04176} = \frac{0.00184}{0.04176} \approx 0.04406

Thus, the probability that a person who tests positive actually has the disease is approximately 4.41%.


Would you like further details on this process, or have any questions?

Here are 5 related questions you might explore:

  1. How does increasing the false negative rate affect the probability of having the disease given a positive test result?
  2. How does increasing the incidence rate of the disease change the outcome?
  3. What would the probability be if the false positive rate were reduced to 2%?
  4. How can Bayes' Theorem be applied to non-medical scenarios, such as spam detection?
  5. What is the impact of testing sensitivity and specificity on disease detection rates?

Tip: When dealing with medical tests, remember that the incidence rate (or prior probability) heavily influences the probability of having a condition given a positive test result.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Probability
Conditional Probability
Bayes' Theorem

Formulas

P(D | Pos) = (P(Pos | D) * P(D)) / P(Pos)
P(Pos) = P(Pos | D) * P(D) + P(Pos | ¬D) * P(¬D)

Theorems

Bayes' Theorem
Law of Total Probability

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 10-12