Photo AI
Studies have shown that lung cancer can be linked to environmental causes - HSC - SSCE Biology - Question 31 - 2022 - Paper 1
Question 31
Studies have shown that lung cancer can be linked to environmental causes. In one historical study across 29 health districts in Japan, non-smoking married women ag... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Studies have shown that lung cancer can be linked to environmental causes - HSC - SSCE Biology - Question 31 - 2022 - Paper 1
Step 1
Evaluate the method used in this epidemiological study.
Answer
The study utilized a large cohort of non-smoking married women and categorized them based on their husbands' smoking status while following them over a significant duration of 14 years. This longitudinal design allows for the correlation of lung cancer mortality rates with smoking exposure adequately.
However, there are notable limitations. The categorization does not account for other environmental factors that could influence lung cancer, such as air quality and diet. Furthermore, this method might introduce bias, as it assumes that all other risk factors are constant, which is rarely the case. The differences in lung cancer mortality rates indicate a potential association between the smoking habits of husbands and the health outcomes of their wives, yet the exact causal relationship cannot be conclusively established without considering other influencing factors.