Biostatistics & Study Design USMLE Step 1 Practice Question
A 61 year old woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease enrolls in a cohort study of coffee intake and lung cancer. Investigators adjust for smoking status as current, former, or never smoker. After adjustment, heavy coffee intake still appears associated with lung cancer, but the authors note that pack years were not measured. Which of the following best explains the concern that smoking may still distort the association?
Answer choices
- ADifferential misclassification
- BInteraction
- CType I error
- DSelection bias
- EResidual confoundingCorrect answer
- FBerkson's paradox
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