I Can’t Believe My Eyes (And Actually I Should Not)! Don’t Get Confounded by Confounders!

Confounding is a pervasive challenge in medical research, often resulting in biased estimates of how exposure influences disease outcomes. It arises when a factor is associated with both the exposure under investigation and the outcome of interest, yet it is not causally linked to their relationship. This association creates a misleading impression of the effect of exposure on the outcome. Addressing confounding requires robust study design; however, achieving a complete resolution of this issue is often challenging and requires critical thinking and interpretation.