ArticleCurrent epidemiology reports2020
A Selective Review of Negative Control Methods in Epidemiology.
Article in Current epidemiology reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 90 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
90 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prenatal Vitamins and the Risk of Offspring Autism Spectrum Disorder: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Validating and leveraging non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infection as a negative control outcome in a phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial with extended observational follow-up.American journal of epidemiology · 2026Trial
- Observational methods for COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness research: an empirical evaluation and target trial emulation.International journal of epidemiology · 2024Trial
- Considerations for the Integration of Clinical Trials and Real-World Data.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Review
- Exhaustion, Not Low Engagement, Differentiates Work-Related and Non-Work-Related Depression in Korean Wage Workers: A Negative-Control Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Negative controls and how to use them: a guidance paper.International journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- PCSK9 inhibitor treatment and outcomes in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease but without prior ischaemic events: an observational study.European heart journal · 2026Observational
- Maternal genetic liability to autism spectrum disorders and pregnancy outcomes.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Early rehabilitation initiation after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage: evaluation of mortality and functional outcomes.European stroke journal · 2026Article
- Using Negative Control Outcomes to Detect Selection Bias in Mendelian Randomization Studies.Statistics in medicine · 2026Article
- Causal Effect of Air Pollution on Outpatient Visits for Chronic Rhinitis.The Laryngoscope · 2026Article
- How Negative Controls Are Used in Pharmacoepidemiology: A Methodological Scoping Review of Real-World Observational Studies of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2026Article
- Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy versus physical therapist-led exercise and the risk of cauda equina syndrome in adults with lumbar disc herniation, stenosis, or radiculopathy.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Long-Term Cardiovascular Risks of Anticholinergic Versus Non-Anticholinergic Antidepressants: A Target Trial Emulation With Negative Control Correction.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2026Article
- Decreased Gabapentin Prescription Fills Among Medicaid Enrollees Following State-Level Schedule V Controlled Substance Classification in Kentucky and West Virginia.Substance use & addiction journal · 2026Article
- Reducing unmeasured confounding from non-compliance with randomization in surgical RCTs: a simulation study.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Article
- Theory for Identification and Inference with Synthetic Controls: A Proximal Causal Inference Framework.Journal of the American Statistical Association · 2026Article
- Restrictive abortion policy climate is associated with increased depression symptoms among women in the United States: Findings from a 25-year longitudinal study.SSM. Mental health · 2026Article
- Evaluating Cardiovascular Devices Using Observational Analyses.Circulation · 2026Review
- Multigenerational smoking during pregnancy and risk of stillbirth: a population-based 3-generation cohort study.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2026Article
30 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purpose of reviewNegative controls are a powerful tool to detect and adjust for bias in epidemiological research. This paper introduces negative controls to a broader audience and provides guidance on principled design and causal analysis based on a formal negative control framework. RECENT
findingsWe review and summarize causal and statistical assumptions, practical strategies, and validation criteria that can be combined with subject-matter knowledge to perform negative control analyses. We also review existing statistical methodologies for the detection, reduction, and correction of confounding bias, and briefly discuss recent advances towards nonparametric identification of causal effects in a double-negative control design. SUMMARY: There is great potential for valid and accurate causal inference leveraging contemporary healthcare data in which negative controls are routinely available. Design and analysis of observational data leveraging negative controls is an area of growing interest in health and social sciences. Despite these developments, further effort is needed to disseminate these novel methods to ensure they are adopted by practicing epidemiologists.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.