Case-Control Studies ‘Research in Reverse’

Case-Control Studies ‘Research in Reverse’

1. A case-control study compares the characteristics of a group of patients with a particular disease outcome (the cases) to a group of individuals without a disease outcome (the control),

2. used to see whether any factors occurred more or less frequently in cases than the controls.

3. retrospective studies do not provide information on the prevalence or incidence of disease but may give clues as to which factors elevate or reduce the risk of disease.

4. Selection of Cases

   • Hospital patients
   • Patients in physician practices
   • Clinic patients

5. Selection of Controls

   • Non-hospitalized persons
   • Hospitalized persons

6. Matching

   • The process of selecting controls so that they are similar to the cases in certain characteristics, such as age, race, sex, socioeconomic status, and occupation.
   • To nullify the difference in characteristics or exposures other than that has been targeted for study.

Images and files in the map