Question

Can an epidemiologist who finds a correlation between the use of tanning beds and melanoma (an aggressive form of skin cancer) in college-age women conclude that tanning beds cause skin cancer?

Answer 1

Answer: No.

Explanation:

Studying about diseases, their effect, cause and the prevention of diseases is known as Epidemiology, and the scientists that studies Epidermiology and take it as a professsion are called Epidermiologists.

From the question; assuming the epidemiologist who finds a correlation between the use of tanning beds and melanoma (an aggressive form of skin cancer) in college-age women, the Epidermiologist can NOT conclude that tanning beds cause skin cancer BECAUSE the fact that the the use of tanning beds CORRELATE with melanoma (an aggressive form of skin cancer) in college-age women does not PROOF THAT tanning beds cause skin cancer.

===>That is, the fact that something correlate with another thing does not make it the cause.