Mendelian randomisation and the goal of inferring causation from observational studies in the vision sciences.
Denis PlotnikovJeremy A GuggenheimPublished in: Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) (2019)
An MR study cannot match an RCT in its strength of evidence for a claim of causality. However, MR still has much to offer. In some circumstances, an MR study can provide causal insight into research questions that cannot be addressed by an RCT, while more generally, an MR study can be used to evaluate the supporting evidence before deciding to embark on a lengthy and costly RCT.