C - Causation Overview

Causation

Introduction

In the previous module you learned about risk factors or exposures being associated with disease. Now you will learn about cause and effect in disease occurrence. Does smoking really cause cancer? How do we determine if an association between an exposure and a disease is causal? 

Essential Questions

  • How is causation established?
  • How is causation established in situations that involve multiple factors or conditions?

Key Terms

  1. Causal inference - the process of drawing a conclusion about a causal connection based on the conditions of the occurrence of an outcome.
  2. Temporality - The degree to which evidence can show that the hypothesized cause actually came before the outcome.
  3. Strength of association - The size of the relative risk.
  4. Dose response - The degree to which risk increases as exposure increases.
  5. Biological plausibility - The extent to which a hypothesized causal association is in line with previously existing biological or medical knowledge.
  6. Stratification - the process of dividing members of the population into homogeneous subgroups before sampling.
  7. Coherence - The extent to which a hypothesized causal association is compatible with pre-existing theory and knowledge
  8. Cause - anything that produces an effect.
  9. Consistency - Finding similar results in studies done in different investigations, using different populations, and using different methods.
  10. Independent variable - The inputs or causes are tested to see if they are the cause.
  11. Dependent variable - The output or effect tested to see if it is the effect.

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