In the field of

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

, the causal mechanisms responsible for

diseases A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that ar ...

can be understood using the causal pie model.This conceptual model was introduced by Ken Rothman to communicate how constellations of component causes can lead to a sufficient cause to lead to a condition of interest and that reflection on these sets could improve epidemiological study design. A set of proposed causal mechanisms are represented as pie charts where each pie in the diagram represent a theoretical causal mechanism for a given disease, which is also called a ''sufficient cause''. Each pie is made up of many component factors, otherwise known as ''component causes'' represented by sectors in the diagram. In this framework, each component cause represents an event or condition required for a given disease or outcome. A component cause that appears in every pie is called a ''necessary cause'' as the outcome cannot occur without it.

References

{{reflist Causal diagrams Epidemiology