Question

5. Which of the following is NOT a requirement for a variable to be a confounder?

1. Must be independently associated with the exposure
2. Must be independently associated with the outcome
3. Must either be a dichotomous or ordinal measure
4. Must change the association between the exposure and outcome when controlling for it

Answer 1

Here,the correct answer is

C.Must either be a dichotomous or ordinal measure

Reason,

Confounding is a distortion (inaccuracy) in the estimated measure of association that occurs when the primary exposure of interest is mixed up with some other factor that is associated with the outcome.

There are three conditions that must be present for confounding to occur:

1. The confounding factor must be associated with both the risk factor of interest and the outcome.
2. The confounding factor must be distributed unequally among the groups being compared.
3. A confounder cannot be an intermediary step in the causal pathway from the exposure of interest to the outcome of interest.