Question

In the context of diagnostic testing, which of the following best definesspecificity?

a) The ability of the test to correctly identify individuals with the condition of interest
b) The test’s ability to detect even the smallest deviations from normal values
c) The test’s precision and consistency in producing the same result upon repeated testing
d) The ability of the test to correctly identify individuals without the condition of interest

Answer 1

Specificity in diagnostic testing is the ability of a test to correctly identify individuals who do not have the condition of interest, with a high specificity indicating few false positives.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the context of diagnostic testing, specificity refers to d) The ability of the test to correctly identify individuals without the condition of interest. This means that a test with high specificity will have a low rate of false positives, indicating that when the test results are negative, one can be quite sure that the individual does not have the condition being tested for.

For example, in the accuracy of antibody tests, test specificity is the probability of getting a negative test result when the patient is not infected with a pathogen. High test specificity is crucial to ensure individual is accurately diagnosed as not having the disease, reducing the likelihood of unnecessary treatments and anxiety.