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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Study Design

Case-control study

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, case-control study means: An observational study that starts with people who have a disease (cases) and people who do not (controls), then looks back to compare their past exposures.

In Turkish: olgu-kontrol çalışması, vaka-kontrol çalışması

How it is used

Popular for rare diseases and outbreak investigations because it is quick and cheap. Results are usually expressed as an odds ratio. Choosing suitable controls and avoiding recall bias are the main challenges.

Example sentences

  1. A case-control study linked the outbreak to a salad served at the wedding.

  2. For the case-control study, each case was matched to two controls of the same age and sex.

Common collocations

  • matched case-control study
  • conduct a case-control study
  • cases and controls
  • recall bias
  • cohort studyAn observational study that follows a group of people over time, comparing those with and without an exposure to see who develops a disease or outcome.
  • odds ratioA measure of association that compares the odds of an exposure among cases with the odds among controls, or the odds of an outcome in two groups.
  • observational studyA study in which researchers observe and measure people's exposures and outcomes without assigning any treatment or intervention themselves.
  • selection biasBias that occurs when the people included in a study, or those who stay in it, differ systematically from the population the results are meant to describe.

More terms: Study Design

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.