confounding

in data analysis
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.15587
  1. Situation in which the effects of two processes are not distinguishable from one another: The distortion of the apparent effect of an exposure on risk brought about by the association of other factors which can influence the outcome.
  2. Relationship between the effects of two or more causal factors as observed in a set of data, such that it is not logically possible to separate the contribution which any single causal factor has made to an effect.
  3. Situation in which a measure of the effect of an exposure on risk is distorted because of the association of exposure with other factor(s) which influence the outcome under study.
Source:
PAC, 2007, 79, 1153. (Glossary of terms used in toxicology, 2nd edition (IUPAC Recommendations 2007)) on page 1195 [Terms] [Paper]
Citation: 'confounding' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.15587 RIS BibTex EndNote
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