Ophthalmic statistics note 12: multivariable or multivariate: whats in a name?

A senior colleague asks me to critique a paper which reports to have used multivariate statistical methods to suggest an inhibitory effect of maternal smoking on the development of severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).1 S/he is concerned by the paper because the abstract suggests a positive effect of maternal smoking which flies very much against public health messages in general regarding smoking but is reassured by the fact that complex statistical methods, namely multivariate techniques, have been employed.

I access the internet and find that the paper has been published in a peer-reviewed journal of high repute and that it reports an analysis conducted using data from 86 premature (<32 weeks' gestation) infants. ROP grading had been evaluated in accordance with the International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity.2 The authors explored clinical characteristics associated with the proportions of babies who had developed severe ROP (defined as stage...

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