Please don't pile on another commenter like that. The diminishing returns of being in the right decline exponentially, and then it just creates ill feeling. Curious conversation doesn't fit well with defeating others, and we're here for the former.

It's not a direct synonym but it's also where my mind went after reading the title

So what other word would you have used for an article about a statistical prediction? This is a scientific text, "to predict" has a well-understood meaning within the field of statistics and it's not a synonym for "causes".

Does "correlate" or "correlation" work? Confession: I didn't read the article.

"correlates"

Correlation is a symmetrical relationship between two properties, prediction is not.

You're intentionally ignoring what I'm saying and I'm not going to continue engaging with it.

I'm sorry for the unnecessary attack.

I don't see how "predict" can be seen to lead one to saying it "caused" something. I think context also matters, a journal title has exact meanings for words in mind unlike most of the media.

Please don't do this here, even if another commenter is being unfair or provocative.