What is a case-control study in statistics?

What is a case-control study in statistics?

A case-control study is a retrospective study that looks back in time to find the relative risk between a specific exposure (e.g. second hand tobacco smoke) and an outcome (e.g. cancer). The study begins by enrolling people who already have a certain disease or outcome.

How do you measure exposure in a case-control study?

The odds ratio is the measure of association for a case-control study. It tells us how much higher the odds of exposure is among cases of a disease compared with controls. The odds ratio compares the odds of exposure to the factor of interest among cases to the odds of exposure to the factor among controls.

Can case-control studies determine causality?

Epidemiologic studies include retrospective case-control studies and prospective cohort studies. While these studies cannot prove causality, they can provide strong evidence for and show the strength of an association between a disease and putative causative factors.

What is a case-control study in simple terms?

Listen to pronunciation. (kays-kun-TROLE STUH-dee) A study that compares two groups of people: those with the disease or condition under study (cases) and a very similar group of people who do not have the disease or condition (controls).

What are the disadvantages of case-control studies?

Disadvantages and Limitations The most commonly cited disadvantage in case-control studies is the potential for recall bias. Recall bias in a case-control study is the increased likelihood that those with the outcome will recall and report exposures compared to those without the outcome.

What are the steps of case control study?

Five steps in conducting a case-control study

• Define a study population (source of cases and controls)
• Define and select cases.
• Define and select controls.
• Measure exposure.
• Estimate disease risk associated with exposure.
• Confounding factors.
• Matching.
• Bias.

Do case studies have controls?

Case control studies are observational because no intervention is attempted and no attempt is made to alter the course of the disease. The goal is to retrospectively determine the exposure to the risk factor of interest from each of the two groups of individuals: cases and controls.