Key findings from the 2009 New Zealand ... - Ministry of Health

Rate ratio graphs
The rate ratio graphs in this report show how the percentages in the different ethnic
groups compare to that of a reference population (usually all current smokers aged
15–64). The following diagram shows how to interpret the rate ratio graphs presented
in this report.
The caption gives information about what
the graph is about, and indicates whether
the data are age standardised.
Figure Y:
Ratio
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
Current smoking among 15–64-year-olds, by ethnic group and sex, 2009 (agestandardised
rate ratio)
Males
Females
The legend shows who or what is
represented by the different
shapes and colours on the graph.
This point indicates where the
data point lies, compared with the
whole population relevant to that
data point: in this case, all current
smoking males aged 15–64
years.
This line is the 95% confidence
interval. If this line does not cross
the bold line at 1.0, there is a
statistically significant difference
between the rate for this group
and the rate for all males or
females in the total population.
0.5
0.0
0.96
0.95
1.72
2.32
European/Other Māori Pacific Asian
Ethnic group
Source: 2009 New Zealand Tobacco Use Survey
Notes:
1. The reference group is indicated by the bold line with a rate ratio of 1.0, which represents the total
male or female population aged 15–64 years.
2. Total response ethnicity has been used.
3. Age standardised to the WHO world population.
1.57
1.30
0.74
0.21
The reference group is
represented with a line at rate
ratio = 1.
This number is the value for the
standardised rate ratio for each
data point. A value less than 1
means that the population group
is less likely to have the outcome
than the reference group, while a
value greater than 1 means the
population group is more likely to
have the outcome.
Tobacco Use in New Zealand 9