Question

Women make up the majority of the population in the country, and many of the prescriptions written by doctors for tranquilizers are for women patients. The testing of these drugs for efficacy and the calibration of recommended doses, however, was done only on men. Not even the animals used to test toxicity were female.
The statements above, if true, best support which of the following as a conclusion?

• A. Some tranquilizers are more appropriately prescribed for women than for men.
• B. There have been no reports of negative side effects from prescribed tranquilizers in women.
• C. Tranquilizers are prescribed for patients in some instances when doctors do not feel confident of their diagnoses. (This option is from the next page of the test)
• D. The toxicity of drugs to women is less than the toxicity of the same drugs to men. (This option is from the next page of the test)
• E. Whether the recommended dosages of tranquilizers are optimal for women is not known. (This option is from the next page of the test)

Hint:

In "draw a conclusion" questions, be wary of answers that make definitive claims not explicitly supported by the text (e.g., "is less toxic," "no reports"). The best conclusion is often a more cautious one that highlights a gap in knowledge or a logical consequence of the information given. Here, the lack of testing logically leads to a lack of knowledge.

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This is an inference or "draw a conclusion" question. We are given a set of facts and must choose the conclusion that is most strongly supported by those facts. The facts should lead logically to the conclusion without requiring major assumptions.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's summarize the facts provided:

Fact 1: Women are the majority of the population and receive many tranquilizer prescriptions.
Fact 2: The drugs' efficacy (effectiveness) and dosage were tested \textit{only on men}.
Fact 3: Even toxicity testing on animals was not done on females.
The central point is a major discrepancy: the primary users of the drugs (women) were not included in any stage of the testing process. The testing, which determines effectiveness and recommended doses, was based entirely on male physiology. Since male and female bodies can react differently to medication, this raises serious questions about whether the results from male-only studies are applicable to women. Let's evaluate the options as potential conclusions:

(A) The passage gives no information to suggest that tranquilizers are \textit{more} appropriate for women. In fact, it raises doubts about their appropriateness.
(B) The passage gives no information about reports of side effects. It's possible there have been many reports, or none. We cannot conclude this from the text.
(C) The reasons for prescribing tranquilizers are not discussed in the passage.
(D) The passage states that toxicity was not tested on females. This means we have no information to compare the toxicity between men and women. We cannot conclude that it is less for women.
(E) This conclusion follows directly from the premises. If the "calibration of recommended doses" was done "only on men," then there is no scientific basis from this testing to know if these doses are optimal (most effective and safe) for women. The lack of testing on females means there is a lack of knowledge about the effects on females. This is a well-supported and logical conclusion.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The fact that dosage recommendations were based solely on studies of men directly supports the conclusion that we do not know if these dosages are optimal for women.