Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by van Reekum, R. Articles by Conn, D. K. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by van Reekum, R. Articles by Conn, D. K. Other Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Applying Bradford Hill's Criteria for Causation to Neuropsychiatry

Challenges and Opportunities

Received March 7, 2000; revised May 8, 2000; accepted May 25, 2000. From the Department of Psychiatry and Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto; Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Toronto; and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Address correspondence to Dr. van Reekum, Department of Psychiatry, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, 3560 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada.

Establishing an argument of causation is an important research activity with major clinical and scientific implications. Sir Austin Bradford Hill proposed criteria to establish such an argument. These criteria include the strength of the association, consistency, specificity, temporal sequence, biological gradient, biologic rationale, coherence, experimental evidence, and analogous evidence. These criteria are reviewed with the goal of facilitating an increase in rigor for establishing arguments of causation in neuropsychiatry. The challenges and opportunities related to these criteria in neuropsychiatry are reviewed, as are two important arguments for causation: one for poststroke depression and one for brain injury as a cause of psychiatric disorders.

Key Words: Bradford Hill, Austin • Neuropsychiatry Research • Causation

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. D. Kelly Epidemiology: what it is and why it matters: INVITED COMMENTARY ON ... CANNABIS USE AND PSYCHOSIS Advan. Psychiatr. Treat., November 1, 2007; 13(6): 412 - 413. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. D. Kelly, L. Feeney, E. O'Callaghan, R. Browne, M. Byrne, N. Mulryan, A. Scully, M. Morris, A. Kinsella, N. Takei, et al. Obstetric Adversity and Age at First Presentation With Schizophrenia: Evidence of a Dose-Response Relationship Am J Psychiatry, May 1, 2004; 161(5): 920 - 922. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2001 American Neuropsychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us