Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26425136›Full record

ArticleEmerging themes in epidemiology2015

Applying the Bradford Hill criteria in the 21st century: how data integration has changed causal inference in molecular epidemiology.

Kristen M Fedak, Autumn Bernal, Zachary A Capshaw, Sherilyn Gross

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Article in Emerging themes in epidemiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 290 papers, 23 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
290citing papers in PubMed, 23 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

290 citing papers in PubMed, 23 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Association of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Suicidality: A Systematic Review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
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230 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Kristen M FedakDepartment of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, 350 West Lake Street, Fort Collins, CO 80521 USA ; Cardno ChemRisk, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 300 West, Boulder, CO 80301 USA.
Autumn BernalCardno ChemRisk, 130 Vantis Suite 170, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 USA.
Zachary A CapshawCardno ChemRisk, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 300 West, Boulder, CO 80301 USA.
Sherilyn GrossCardno ChemRisk, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 300 West, Boulder, CO 80301 USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In 1965, Sir Austin Bradford Hill published nine "viewpoints" to help determine if observed epidemiologic associations are causal. Since then, the "Bradford Hill Criteria" have become the most frequently cited framework for causal inference in epidemiologic studies. However, when Hill published his causal guidelines-just 12 years after the double-helix model for DNA was first suggested and 25 years before the Human Genome Project began-disease causation was understood on a more elementary level than it is today. Advancements in genetics, molecular biology, toxicology, exposure science, and statistics have increased our analytical capabilities for exploring potential cause-and-effect relationships, and have resulted in a greater understanding of the complexity behind human disease onset and progression. These additional tools for causal inference necessitate a re-evaluation of how each Bradford Hill criterion should be interpreted when considering a variety of data types beyond classic epidemiology studies. Herein, we explore the implications of data integration on the interpretation and application of the criteria. Using examples of recently discovered exposure-response associations in human disease, we discuss novel ways by which researchers can apply and interpret the Bradford Hill criteria when considering data gathered using modern molecular techniques, such as epigenetics, biomarkers, mechanistic toxicology, and genotoxicology.

Indexed as

Bradford HillCausal inferenceCausationData integrationMolecular epidemiology

Identifiers

PMID26425136
PMCPMC4589117

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.