A case-control study was performed to determine whether head injury was associat
ID: 3292587 • Letter: A
Question
A case-control study was performed to determine whether head injury was associated with an increased risk of brain tumors in children. 200 cases with brain cancer were identified from the state cancer registry and 200 controls were recruited from the same neighborhoods where the cases lived. The mothers of the children completed a questionnaire that asked them to describe their child’s past history of head injury. The investigators found that the mothers of the children with brain tumors reported a past head injury for 70 of the cases while a past history of head injury was reported in 30 of the controls. What type of bias was likely to have influenced the findings of this study, and why? What can be done to minimize this type of bias?
Explanation / Answer
Solution:
A case-control study was performed to determine whether head injury was associated with an increased risk of brain tumors in children. 200 cases with brain cancer were identified from the state cancer registry and 200 controls were recruited from the same neighborhoods where the cases lived. The mothers of the children completed a questionnaire that asked them to describe their child’s past history of head injury. The investigators found that the mothers of the children with brain tumors reported a past head injury for 70 of the cases while a past history of head injury was reported in 30 of the controls.
The type of bias was likely to have influenced the findings of this study is Recall bias. Recall bias can occur in either case-control studies or retrospective cohort studies. The Recall bias has occurs when there are systematic differences in the way subjects remember or report exposures or outcomes.
To minimize the recall bias use objective records rather than relying on recall bias.
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