EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES II (Cohort) Flashcards
a tenth of a roman legion: 300-600 soldiers
How the Roman Army was organized
Cohort (Latin) The legion was divided into ten cohorts Each cohort was made up of six centuries The centuries were commanded by a centurion Centuries originally had 100 men
Group of people who share a common experience or distinct set of characteristics during a defined time period
Cohort Studies
Cohort: Designate a group of individuals who are followed up over a period of time
Shared characteristics: secondary to common setting or common experience
Common setting: school cohort
Common experience: birth cohort
Also known as Follow-up studies, incidence studies, prospective studies, longitudinal studies, panel studies
Group or groups of persons are defined on the basis of presence or absence of exposure to a suspected risk factor of a disease
Cohort Study
Investigator starts with group of individuals apparently free from the disease of interest
Disease-free individuals then follow them up for a certain period of time and check for the presence of the outcome of the disease
Groups of individuals are divided into who are exposed and those not exposed to a suspected risk factor
Design: start with the exposed and does that are not exposed and followed during period of time
Followed during a period of time to determine and compare the occurrence of outcome among exposed and unexposed
Cohort Study
Outcome = disease
Well suited for assessing the effects of rare exposures
Ex: Cohort Study of Oral Contraceptive Use and Bacteriuria Among Women Aged 16-49 Years Old
Exposure: oral contraceptive use
Outcome: bacteriuria
A if only the first statement is correct
B if only the second statement is correct
C if both of the statements are correct
D if neither of the statements is correct
General Feature of Cohort Study
- Proceeds from a suspected cause or etiological agent to the disease outcome
- Exposure is measured at the start of the study
C
A if only the first statement is correct
B if only the second statement is correct
C if both of the statements are correct
D if neither of the statements is correct
General Feature of Cohort Study
- Not followed up to measure the outcome at the end of study
- Longitudinal type of study: 2 different time points
B
ODD MAN OUT:
Uses of Cohort Study
- Identify risk factors
- Identify protective factors against diseases
- Identify prognostic factors for outcome of disease
- Describe the natural history of disease
- Generate hypothesis in a descriptive approach
- Project incidence/ proportion/ number of new cases of disease over a period of time; data useful for planning acute rare services
- Assess effectiveness of preventive programs/ measures
- Generate hypothesis in a descriptive approach
Types of Cohort studies are based on:
Time relationship between initiation of study
Occurrence of disease
Cohort Study based on Time relationship between initiation of study:
it is based on concepts
Conceptual sense
Cohort Study based on Time relationship between initiation of study:
establishes causality; temporality
Temporal sense
Cohort Study based on Occurrence of disease:
exposure is measured first; establishes temporality
Exposure —> outcome
Prospective
Cohort Study based on Occurrence of disease:
outcome is measured first
Outcome —> exposure
Retrospective
Sources of Cohort Groups:
Special exposure groups
Special resource groups
A if only the first statement is correct
B if only the second statement is correct
C if both of the statements are correct
D if neither of the statements is correct
Selection of Comparison Groups
- Groups being compared should not be similar to the study group in all respects except the exposure or determinant under experimentation
- Information obtained from the non-exposed groups is inadequate for comparison with the exposed group
D
Types of Comparison Groups:
used for general population cohorts
Internal comparison group