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Game 4 of the Book of Why XABCYX \leftarrow A \rightarrow B \leftarrow C \rightarrow Y

This diagram has no confounders. Because A->B<-C is a collider, confounding cannot occur in the backdoor path.

Using the classical epidemiological definition, I will explain through example of why B is not a confounder and why this definition is not completely accurate. Let's say B is seat belt usage. X is smoking and Y is lung disease. We will say A is societal norms towards safety and C is societal norms towards health.

  1. People who smoke and get lung disease also use seat belts
  2. People who do not use seatbelts can still smoke and/or get lung disease
  3. People who do use seatbelts do not automatically smoke or get lung disease. It is still in relation to it by proxy of societal norms of health and safety but do not cause it.
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Updated 2020-04-19

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Data Science