Yet, individuals behind the veil of ignorance who make decisions based solely on self-interest might well allow this study on the grounds that it offers a positive cost-benefit ratio overall: the high risks to a few subjects are clearly outweighed by the potential to save the lives of millions.
However Adam Smith in 'The Theory or Moral Sentiments' (Smith 1759) makes it clear that he is not advocating an economic system based solely on self-interest, and the free-market is only possible on the assumption that man is a social animal with moral sentiments designed by nature to live in harmony with society.
Second, we were lacking information from the parents; assessment of family-related factors was based solely on self-report data.
Possible cases based solely on self-report and not confirmed by another data source did not qualify as a confirmed case of diabetes.
Another limitation of the study is that we did not re-examine the patients by means of the SCAN interview at follow-up as the follow-up was based solely on self-reported questionnaires (the SF-36 and the Whiteley-7) and health care costs from patient registers.
Additionally, data on vaccination history and sociodemographic characteristics were based solely on self-reporting.
Limitations of this study include the fact that the prevalence of asthma and allergies was based solely on self-reports, no objective measures were done.
Finally, an important limitation of our study is that measures of both outcomes were based solely on self-report of physician diagnosis.
