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Causal inference in environmental epidemiology

Inferring causality is necessary to achieve the goal of epidemiology, which is to elucidate the cause of disease. Causal inference is conducted in three steps: evaluation of validity of the study, inference of general causality, and inference of individual causality. To evaluate validity of the stud...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Bae, Sanghyuk, Kim, Hwan-Cheol, Ye, Byeongjin, Choi, Won-Jun, Hong, Young-Seoub, Ha, Mina
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Korean Society of Environmental Health and Toxicology 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5704574/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29026062
http://dx.doi.org/10.5620/eht.e2017015
Descripción
Sumario:Inferring causality is necessary to achieve the goal of epidemiology, which is to elucidate the cause of disease. Causal inference is conducted in three steps: evaluation of validity of the study, inference of general causality, and inference of individual causality. To evaluate validity of the study, we propose a checklist that focuses on biases and generalizability. For general causal inference, we recommend utilizing Hill’s 9 viewpoints. Lastly, individual causality can be inferred based on the general causality and evidence of exposure. Additional considerations may be needed for social or legal purposes; however, these additional considerations should be based on the scientific truth elucidated by the causal inference described in the present article.