How Can Observer Bias Impact Epidemiological Studies?

Observer bias can have several adverse effects on epidemiological research:

- Misclassification: Incorrectly classifying participants' exposure or disease status can lead to misclassification bias, which distorts the true relationship between exposure and outcome.
- Overestimation or Underestimation of Effects: Observer bias can lead to either an overestimation or underestimation of the association between an exposure and an outcome, depending on the direction of the bias.
- Reduced Reproducibility: Studies affected by observer bias are less likely to be reproducible, as the bias may not be present in subsequent studies conducted by different researchers.