Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Epidemiological (and other observational) studies typically highlight associations between exposures and outcomes, rather than causation. While some consider this a limitation of observational research, epidemiological models of causation (e.g. Bradford Hill criteria) [7] contend that an entire body of evidence is needed before determining if an association is truly causal. [8]
Case series have a descriptive study design; unlike studies that employ an analytic design (e.g. cohort studies, case-control studies or randomized controlled trials), case series do not, in themselves, involve hypothesis testing to look for evidence of cause and effect (though case-only analyses are sometimes performed in genetic epidemiology ...
In epidemiology, a clinical case definition, [1] a clinical definition, or simply a case definition [2] lists the clinical criteria by which public health professionals determine whether a person's illness is included as a case in an outbreak investigation—that is, whether a person is considered directly affected by an outbreak.
Conversely, in experimental studies, the epidemiologist is the one in control of all of the factors entering a certain case study. [43] Epidemiological studies are aimed, where possible, at revealing unbiased relationships between exposures such as alcohol or smoking, biological agents , stress , or chemicals to mortality or morbidity .
Porta's Dictionary of Epidemiology defines the case–control study as: "an observational epidemiological study of persons with the disease (or another outcome variable) of interest and a suitable control group of persons without the disease (comparison group, reference group). The potential relationship of a suspected risk factor or an ...
Bradford Hill's criteria had been widely accepted as useful guidelines for investigating causality in epidemiological studies but their value has been questioned because they have become somewhat outdated. [5] In addition, their method of application is debated. [citation needed] Some proposed options how to apply them include:
The process for selecting and matching cases is identical to a normal case control study. An example of a nested case-control study is Inflammatory markers and the risk of coronary heart disease in men and women, which was a case control analyses extracted from the Framingham Heart Study cohort. [15]
Clinical epidemiology aims to optimise the diagnostic, treatment and prevention processes for an individual patient, based on an assessment of the diagnostic and treatment process using epidemiological research data. [7] [8] A central tenet of clinical epidemiology is that every clinical decision must be based on rigorously evidence-based ...