Douglas Altman was a preeminent medical statistician whose rigorous approach transformed the standards of medical research methodology and reporting. He served as Professor of Statistics in Medicine at the University of Oxford, where he founded and directed the Centre for Statistics in Medicine, establishing it as a global leader in statistical methodology for healthcare research. With an honors degree in statistics from the University of Bath in 1970, Altman began his career at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School before spending eleven formative years at the Medical Research Council's Clinical Research Centre. In 1988, he became head of the Medical Statistics Laboratory at Imperial Cancer Research Fund, now Cancer Research UK, where he significantly advanced statistical approaches to cancer research. His appointment as founding director of the Centre for Statistics in Medicine in Oxford in 1995 and subsequent professorship in 1998 cemented his position as a leading authority in medical statistics.
Altman's scholarly contributions revolutionized the reliability and transparency of medical research through his development of influential statistical methodologies and reporting guidelines. His 1986 paper with Martin Bland introducing the Bland-Altman plot for method comparison studies became one of the most widely adopted statistical techniques in medical literature, cited tens of thousands of times and fundamentally changing how researchers assess agreement between measurement methods. As a driving force behind the CONSORT statement for transparent reporting of clinical trials, he established standards that were adopted by hundreds of medical journals worldwide, significantly reducing selective reporting and improving research integrity. His extensive body of work, reflected in an impressive H-index of 84 and over 63,000 citations, demonstrated his profound impact on statistical practice in medicine through both theoretical advancements and practical applications. Altman's meticulous attention to methodological rigor helped expose widespread deficiencies in medical research reporting, catalyzing a global movement toward more reliable and reproducible healthcare evidence.
Beyond his scholarly work, Altman co-founded the international EQUATOR Network, creating a comprehensive infrastructure to enhance the quality and transparency of health research across all study designs and disciplines. As chief statistical advisor to the British Medical Journal and co-convenor of the Cochrane Collaboration's Statistical Methods Group, he shaped editorial policies and statistical standards that influenced generations of medical researchers. His leadership extended to numerous reporting guideline initiatives including STROBE for epidemiological studies and REMARK for tumor marker prognostic studies, demonstrating his commitment to systematic improvement across all domains of medical research. Remembered for his simple yet powerful message that 'if you are going to do research on patients then do it well and report it honestly,' Altman's philosophy continues to guide ethical research practices worldwide. Though he passed away in 2018, his legacy endures through the countless researchers and institutions that implement his standards, ensuring that medical evidence remains trustworthy and ultimately improves patient care globally.
