Introduction to Epidemiology 6th Edition by Ray M Merrill

Exercise 13

In the coffee–myocardial infarction example, in which smoking was shown to be a confounder (see the section on confounding under case-control studies), show that there is an association between smoking and coffee and also an association between smoking and myocardial infarction.

Step 1 of 5

The association between an exposure of disease and its outcome is influenced by another third factor which is also linked to the health outcome. This third factor is also linked to the exposure of disease and not dependent on this association. This is where confounding occurs.