A test with high sensitivity but low specificity will do which of the following?

A test with high sensitivity but low specificity will do which of the following?

• A. It will yield perfect accuracy.
• B. It will miss many true cases.
• C. It will accurately identify those without the condition but miss many with it.
• D. It will identify most people with the condition but also flag many without it.

Answer: (D)

High sensitivity means the test catches most people who have the condition (few false negatives), while low specificity means many people without the condition are still labeled positive (many false positives). So such a test will identify most true cases but also flag many individuals who do not have the condition. That’s exactly the described scenario. It wouldn’t yield perfect accuracy because the many false positives lower overall accuracy. It wouldn’t miss many true cases due to the high sensitivity. It also wouldn’t accurately identify those without the condition while missing many with it, since that would require high specificity.

High sensitivity means the test catches most people who have the condition (few false negatives), while low specificity means many people without the condition are still labeled positive (many false positives). So such a test will identify most true cases but also flag many individuals who do not have the condition. That’s exactly the described scenario. It wouldn’t yield perfect accuracy because the many false positives lower overall accuracy. It wouldn’t miss many true cases due to the high sensitivity. It also wouldn’t accurately identify those without the condition while missing many with it, since that would require high specificity.