A control or "no disease" group is needed for study on risk factors associated with oral cancer. The nurses conducting the study decide to use a group of patients with skin cancer as their controls because these patients are at the same facility. Having another type of cancer could itself be a risk factor and is a potential limitation in the study. This variable, having another type of cancer, would be called a(n):
A)Confounder.
B)Right censoring.
C)Case-control.
D)Odds ratio.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A confounder is a variable that is associated with both the exposure and the outcome, and can therefore bias the results of a study. In this case, having another type of cancer is associated with both being in the control group and having oral cancer, and could therefore bias the results of the study.

A Control or "No Disease" Group Is Needed for Study