I need to find correlation between BMI and levels of cytokines. unfortunately, the BMI is not equally distributed for all patients: 15 patients have a bmi in the range between 40 and 60, while 15 patients have a bmi in the range between 22 and 28. The BMI range between 28 and 40 is not covered.
Is it correct to use a spearman or pearson correlation even if I have this gap?
Pearson's correlation coefficient and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient are statistical measures that can assess the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables. Both measures are based on comparing the ranks or scores of the two variables, and they can be used to determine whether there is a correlation between them.
If your data are not equally distributed, you can still use Pearson's or Spearman's correlation coefficient to assess the relationship between the variables. However, it is essential to consider the data distribution and whether it may affect the analysis results.
For example, if the data are skewed or have outliers, this may influence the strength and direction of the correlation between the variables. In these cases, it may be more appropriate to use a nonparametric statistical test such as Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, which is less sensitive to the distribution of the data.
It is also important to remember that Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients are only appropriate for assessing linear relationships between variables. If the relationship between the variables is nonlinear, these measures may not accurately reflect the strength and direction of the relationship. In these cases, it may be more appropriate to use a different statistical measure or method to analyze the data.
Thank you so much, now everything is clear to me. I will use spearman because i have some outliers.
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