What is the purpose of a case-control study?

A case-control study is primarily designed to compare individuals who have a specific disease or condition (the cases) to individuals who do not have the disease (the controls). This comparison allows researchers to identify and analyze potential risk factors or exposures that may be associated with the disease. By observing the differences between the two groups, researchers can gather valuable information about the etiology of the disease and understand how certain factors might contribute to its development.

This study design is particularly useful in studying rare diseases because it allows researchers to effectively gather data without needing to recruit a large number of subjects with the disease, which would be necessary in other study designs like cohort studies. The strength of case-control studies lies in their ability to generate hypotheses and direct further research efforts toward understanding complex health issues.