UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Does the Temple wearable reveal useful information about brain health?

Q1. With reference to the difference between a biomarker's statistical association with a disease and its usefulness as a diagnostic test, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A marker whose average value differs between people with and without a disease can still misclassify many individuals if the values of the two groups overlap widely.
  2. A marker with high sensitivity but low specificity tends to produce many false alarms when used to screen a largely healthy population.
  3. If a physiological quantity is causally involved in a disease, measuring it automatically provides a reliable diagnostic test for that disease.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Arterial spin labelling (ASL) MRI is considered especially suitable for assessing brain perfusion in patients with impaired kidney function.
  2. ASL MRI uses magnetically labelled water in the patient's own arterial blood as the tracer, so no externally administered contrast agent has to be cleared from the body.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to dementia, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Dementia is a syndrome that can be caused by several different diseases that damage the brain, and more than one such form often co-exists in the same person.
  2. Vascular dementia is the most common form of dementia and accounts for a majority of cases worldwide.
  3. Since vascular dementia arises from damaged blood vessels, medicines that control blood pressure have no role once it has been diagnosed.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q4. A company reports that the average brain-perfusion reading from its temple-worn device is lower in people with dementia than in healthy people of the same age. Consider the following additional pieces of evidence: Which of the above would strengthen the case for using the device to screen individual users?

  1. In the same individuals, the device's readings agree closely with perfusion values obtained by arterial spin labelling MRI.
  2. Repeated readings taken from the same person under similar conditions give closely matching values.
  3. Trials show that users flagged by the device and then referred for care have better outcomes than comparable users who were not screened.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q5. With reference to India's Digital Personal Data Protection framework (the DPDP Act, 2023 and the DPDP Rules, 2025), as applied to a company that collects users' data through a health wearable, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A Consent Manager is the entity that decides the purpose and means of processing the users' data on behalf of the wearable company.
  2. A Consent Manager must be registered with the Data Protection Board.
  3. The notice given to a user must include a means through which the user can complain to the Data Protection Board.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q6. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Under India's DPDP Act, 2023, a company that lawfully collected a user's data with consent may continue processing it for the same purpose even after the user withdraws that consent.
  2. Under the DPDP framework, a registered Consent Manager gives the Data Principal a single point of contact to give, review and withdraw consent.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct