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Prevalence
cases are very rarely (e.g. for a case control study of congenital
malformations) included as they lead to errors due to their longer duration.
Their long-standing nature will give scope for innumerable factors to play a role in causation. Moreover, the factors playing role in their distant past may cause problems (uncertainty with prevalent conditions) for comparison and analysis. The difficulty to measure exposure is another problem with prevalent cases. |