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A case-control study is classified as a retrospective study that compares individuals who have a particular disease or outcome (the cases) to those who do not have the disease or outcome (the controls). This design is particularly valuable for studying rare diseases or outcomes because it allows researchers to look backward in time to identify risk factors or exposures that may have contributed to the disease.

In this approach, researchers start with the outcome status and then trace back to find potential exposures, which makes it different from prospective studies that follow individuals forward from exposure to outcome. The goal is to determine whether a previous exposure is associated with an increased risk of the outcome by examining the history of both cases and controls. This focus on past exposures forms the core of a case-control study, confirming that it is indeed a retrospective investigation comparing diseased and non-diseased individuals.