Epidemiological studies often aim to investigate the causal contribution of a risk factor to a disease or other outcome. In etiological research, one is usually interested in the (biological) mechanism(s) underlying the studied relationship. Inappropriate conduct of an etiological study may have major implications for the correctness of the results and interpretation of the findings. Therefore, in this paper, we aim to describe step by step how etiological research should be carried out, together with its common pitfalls. These steps involve finding and formulating a well-defined etiological research question, choosing an appropriate study design including a suitable comparison group, adequate modelling, and adequate reporting and interpretation of the results.
Keywords: aetiology; epidemiology; etiological research; pitfalls; research methodology; statistical modelling.
© 2021 The Authors. Nephrology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology.