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Case-Control Studies in Aging Research

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Aging Research - Methodological Issues

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Abstract

In the planning phase of research related to age and aging, the quality of knowledge derived from epidemiological studies, depends heavily on the solidity of the methodological design and the strategies for collecting data designed to answer the research question. The classic design of case-control studies distinguishes between older adults who have a specific outcome or disease (cases) and those who do not (controls) and are determines whether the subjects were exposed or not to one or several factors to try to establish, retrospectively (that is, from the effect to the cause), the relationship of these factors with the disease. Case-control studies are a cost-effective alternative for providing a valid and reasonably precise estimate for identifying an association force of a hypothetical relationship cause-effect in studies related to older adults. Recently case-control studies have been related directly to cohort studies, which enabled researchers to design new patterns for their development while obtaining major benefits. The case-control study is the appropriate choice and at times the only alternative for studying diseases of very low incidence in older adults. With this type of study, it is possible to explore a broad range of related exposures to illness. Another important advantage is that they require smaller samples and are less costly than experimental designs or cohort studies. Among the disadvantages or drawbacks of this type of study is that it can only provide information about the event or target disease in the population that has been selected for carrying out the study.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit in Epidemiology and Health Services, Aging Area, National Medical Center Century XXI, Mexican Institute of Social Security, Mexico City, Mexico

    Sergio Sánchez-García & Ángel Cárdenas-Bahena

  2. Department of Public Health and Oral Epidemiology, Faculty of Dentistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

    Erika Heredia-Ponce

  3. Center for Research on Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Public Health, Mexico City, Mexico

    Luis Pablo Cruz-Hervert

  4. Faculty of Dentistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

    Laura Bárbara Velázquez-Olmedo

  5. Research Division, National Institute of Geriatrics, Mexico City, Mexico

    Carmen García-Peña

Authors
  1. Sergio Sánchez-García
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  2. Erika Heredia-Ponce
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  3. Luis Pablo Cruz-Hervert
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  4. Ángel Cárdenas-Bahena
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  5. Laura Bárbara Velázquez-Olmedo
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  6. Carmen García-Peña
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sergio Sánchez-García .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Geriatrics, Mexico City, Mexico

    Carmen García-Peña

  2. National Institute of Geriatrics, Mexico City, Mexico

    Luis Miguel Gutiérrez-Robledo

  3. National Institute of Geriatrics, Mexico City, Mexico

    Mario Ulises Pérez-Zepeda

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Sánchez-García, S., Heredia-Ponce, E., Cruz-Hervert, L.P., Cárdenas-Bahena, Á., Velázquez-Olmedo, L.B., García-Peña, C. (2018). Case-Control Studies in Aging Research. In: García-Peña, C., Gutiérrez-Robledo, L., Pérez-Zepeda, M. (eds) Aging Research - Methodological Issues. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95387-8_7

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