A variable or fact that confuses a result. A confounder distorts the ability to attribute cause to a treatment, for example, because it is likely something else is confusing the result.
In a statistical analysis, the outcome variable(s) or the variable(s) whose values are a function of, or dependent on the effect of other variable(s) (called independent variables) in the relationship under study.... dependent variable
n. the situation in which an apparent association between two *variables is in fact explained by a third variable that correlates with one or both of the variables under investigation. If confounding is not recognized, it can lead to the false assumption that two variables are directly related, known as a spurious correlation.... confounding
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