However, should these groups not be independent, and there is an order in the groups (such as mild, moderate and severe disease), or in the dose of a drug (such as 5 mg/mL, 10 mg/mL, 20 mg/mL) given to the same group of patients, then a linear trend estimation should be used.
haʊˈɛvɚ, ʃˌʊd ðiːz ɡɹˈuːps nˌɑːt biː ˌɪndᵻpˈɛndənt, ænd ðɛɹ ɪz ɐn ˈɔːɹdɚɹ ɪnðə ɡɹˈuːps sˈʌtʃ ɐz mˈaɪld, mˈɑːdɚɹət ænd sᵻvˈɪɹ dɪzˈiːz, ɔːɹ ɪnðə dˈoʊs əvə dɹˈʌɡ sˈʌtʃ ɐz fˈaɪv ˌɛmdʒˈiː slˈæʃ ˈɛm ˈɛl, tˈɛn ˌɛmdʒˈiː slˈæʃ ˈɛm ˈɛl, twˈɛnti ˌɛmdʒˈiː slˈæʃ ˈɛm ˈɛl ɡˈɪvən tə ðə sˈeɪm ɡɹˈuːp ʌv pˈeɪʃənts, ðˈɛn ɐ lˈɪnɪɹ tɹˈɛnd ˌɛstᵻmˈeɪʃən ʃˌʊd biː jˈuːzd.