Table 4

Examples of words and study elements that could point to causality or otherwise

Words expressing a causal relationship

  • Affect

  • Attributable

  • Benefit

  • Cause/Causal pathway

  • Contribute

  • Determinant

  • Effect

  • Efficacy

  • Impact

  • Improve

  • Leads to

  • Mediates

  • Responsible for

  • Results in

  • Safety

Words that could suggest causality in a given context

  • Independently associated

  • Induce

  • Higher (lower) probability

  • Modify

  • Risk (factor)

  • Trajectory (quantitatively) decompose

Specific expressions avoiding suggestions of causal effects

  • Association

  • Correlation

  • Less (more) likely link

  • Predict

  • Pattern

Key aspects suggesting causal aim

  • Adjusting for confounders

  • Discussing biological plausibility, dose-response and/or temporal relationship

  • Discussing ‘unmeasured confounders’ assumption

  • Mediation analysis

  • Propensity score adjustment (propensity score) matching

  • Providing estimates of (population) attributable risks

  • Suggesting/Recommending intervention

  • Target trial emulation design

  • Using directed acyclic graphs to identify confounders and mediators

  • Using negative controls

  • Using instrumental variables