Sufficient cause

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Sufficient Cause

Sufficient cause (/səˈfɪʃənt kɔːz/) is a term used in epidemiology and medicine to describe a condition that, if present, will produce a specific health outcome or disease. It is a concept derived from the causal inference in epidemiology.

Etymology

The term "sufficient cause" originates from the Latin words "sufficiens" meaning "adequate" and "causa" meaning "cause or reason". In the context of medicine and epidemiology, it refers to a cause that is adequate or enough to bring about a certain outcome or effect.

Definition

In the field of epidemiology, a sufficient cause is a set of minimal conditions and events that inevitably produce disease. This means that if a sufficient cause is present, the disease will always occur. However, it's important to note that a single disease may have more than one sufficient cause. This is known as the sufficient-component cause model, a concept introduced by Rothman in 1976.

Related Terms

  • Necessary cause: A cause that must be present for a disease to occur. Unlike a sufficient cause, a necessary cause on its own may not lead to the disease, but the disease cannot occur without it.
  • Causal inference: The process of drawing a conclusion about a causal connection based on the conditions of the occurrence of an effect.
  • Epidemiology: The study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in defined populations.
  • Sufficient-component cause model: A conceptual model used in epidemiology to help understand the complex causal mechanisms that lead to disease.

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