[Significance of p-values: misinterpreted and overrated].

- An often provided interpretation of a significant p-value (p < 0.05) is that 'the probability the conclusion is incorrect, is only 5%'. This interpretation is incorrect.- It can be shown that for observational studies, in case of p < 0.05, the probability of a false positive signal is around 50%. This means that significant p-values give us much less certainty about the reliability of a conclusion than we like to believe.- Much would be gained already if the emphasis on p-values would be replaced by: (a) an estimation of the effect size in combination with the corresponding statistical uncertainty (represented by the confidence interval), (b) an assessment of the clinical relevance of that effect, and (c) an evaluation of a study and its results in the broader context of other publications on the same topic.