Suppose a team of researchers studied if American adults age…
Suppose a team of researchers studied if American adults aged 30-35 with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at higher risk of alcohol use disorder. The researchers designed a prospective cohort study to study the association between PTSD and alcohol use disorder. In the first step the researcher included a random sample of American adults aged 30-35. Any individuals with alcohol use disorder at the start of the study were excluded from the study. In the second step, the researchers used medical records to determine if the participants had a diagnosis of PTSD. After five years of follow-up, the researchers interviewed the participants to determine if the participants had developed alcohol use disorder. After hearing about this study, a fellow researcher is concerned that participants may not feel comfortable disclosing that they have alcohol use disorder. The fellow researcher warns their colleagues that this may bias the effect estimate from this study. What source of bias is the fellow researcher concerned about?