In: Statistics and Probability
are weak associations indicative of a non causal relationship
Smoking and lung cancer is a perfect example where risk ratios, rate ratios, and odds ratios are in the 20 to 40 range when comparing smokers to non-smokers.
Weak associations as demonstrated by the risk ratio, rate ratio, or odds ratio should not be taken as an indication of non-causality.
This is particularly true when the outcome of interest is common. An example of a common outcome that exhibits a weak association to smoking is cardiovascular disease (CVD). Yet even with a weak association, evidence supports the casual nature between smoking and the development of CVD.
Furthermore, one should not assume that a strong association alone is indicative of causality, as the presence of strong confounding may erroneously lead to a strong causal association.
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