natural experiment method

EPIDEMIOLOGY, EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE

A epidemiological method which identifies naturally occurring cohorts with clear differences in sex, race, religion, occupation, geography and other “exposures”, and analyses their risks of certain diseases.

Much of current knowledge about various morbid conditions–e.g., cancer and cardiovascular disease, their putative aetiologies, early detection, and prevention, is initially recognised by statistical analysis of “natural experiments”.

Natural experiment populations 

• Italians Mediterranean diet

• Japanese and Icelanders High fish consumption 

• Mormons Non-smoking, abstinence from alcohol