Epidemiologists use various study designs and methods to test for causation:
Cohort Studies: Follow a group of people over time to see if exposure to a potential cause leads to the outcome. Case-Control Studies: Compare individuals with the outcome (cases) to those without it (controls) to see if exposure is more common in cases. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs): Participants are randomly assigned to receive the exposure or not, and outcomes are compared. Cross-Sectional Studies: Assess the relationship between exposure and outcome at a single point in time.
