An investigator wishes to study the association between an extremely rare cancer and occupational solvent exposure. Which study design will yield the answer most efficiently?
- A Prospective cohort study
- B Cross-sectional study
- C Case-control study ✓
- D Ecological study
Correct answer: C. Case-control study
Explanation
Case-control studies begin with all available cases of the rare disease, so even a handful of cases can be studied directly. A prospective cohort would need to enroll hundreds of thousands of exposed and unexposed subjects and wait years to accumulate enough cases, making it grossly inefficient for rare outcomes. Cross-sectional studies measure prevalence, not causation, and ecological studies suffer from the ecological fallacy.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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