Self-Selection Bias: An Essential Design Consideration for Nutrition Trials in Healthy Populations.

ABSTRACT: Many researchers have identified the issue of self-selection bias hindering the ability to detect nutrient effects in healthy populations. However, it appears that no effort has been made to mitigate this potential design flaw. By recruiting individuals on the basis of pre-trial dietary intake, the Memory and Attention Supplementation Trial aimed to capture a cohort of participants with a wide variety of dietary intake, thus increasing the likelihood of a diverse range of nutrient status. This perspective specifically examines the profile of these trial volunteers and in doing so, we present the first empirical evidence of self-selection bias when recruiting healthy volunteers for a randomized controlled trial of a nutrient-based supplement. These findings support the anecdotal proposal th

SUBMITTER: Young LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7683507 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature