Epidemiology Study Designs

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Questions and Answers

What type of study is described in the text where investigators assemble a cohort and follow them for outcomes?

Cohort study (correct)

Ecological study

Longitudinal study

Cross-sectional study

What is the characteristic of cohort studies in which groups are defined on the basis of exposure to risk factors?

Longitudinal design

Exposed and unexposed groups (correct)

Retrospective study

Prospective study

What is the name of the study design that examines the relationship between meat consumption and colon cancer rates across different countries?

Ecological study (correct)

Case-control study

Cross-sectional study

Cohort study

What is the main goal of a cohort study?

To examine the relationship between risk factors and outcomes Signup and view all the answers

What type of bias can occur in ecological studies when the results are applied to individuals?

Ecological fallacy Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between prospective and retrospective cohort studies?

Direction of time Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the study design that involves following a group of people over time to examine the relationships between risk factors and outcomes?

Cohort study Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for a study that examines a group of people at a single point in time?

Cross-sectional study Signup and view all the answers

What is the main limitation of ecologic studies?

They do not provide information about individual people Signup and view all the answers

What type of ecologic study compares rate of diseases among different regions during the same period?

Multi-group design Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used to describe the error in ecologic studies where the exposure and outcome are not linked at the individual level?

Ecological bias Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of observational designs?

To generate hypotheses Signup and view all the answers

Which type of study is used to compare rate of disease over time in a geographically defined population?

Time-trend design Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between ecologic studies and cohort studies?

Ecologic studies do not have data on individual people, while cohort studies do Signup and view all the answers

What type of ecologic study shows temporal trends, forecasts future rates and trends?

Mixed design Signup and view all the answers

What is a limitation of using ecologic studies to determine cause and effect?

They do not provide information about the temporal relationship between exposure and outcome Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between a prospective cohort study and a retrospective cohort study?

The direction of the study, whether it looks forward or backward in time Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of a case control study?

To compare the frequency of past exposure to possible risk factors between two groups Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for a study that follows a group of people over time to examine the development of a disease or outcome?

Longitudinal study Signup and view all the answers

What is the main advantage of a prospective cohort study?

It allows researchers to establish a temporal relationship between the exposure and the outcome Signup and view all the answers

What type of study is used to investigate the effects of prenatal x-ray exposure on the development of cancer in childhood?

Retrospective cohort study Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for a type of study that examines the relationship between variables at a single point in time?

Cross-sectional study Signup and view all the answers

What is the main limitation of an ecological study?

It is susceptible to the ecological fallacy Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary advantage of a case control study?

It is less expensive than a cohort study Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Study Designs

Cross-sectional studies examine the frequency of a characteristic and an outcome of interest in the same geographic area.
Cohort studies investigate the exposure of a group of people to different risk factors and their outcomes over time.

Cohort Studies

In cohort studies, investigators assemble one or more cohorts based on exposure to risk factors.
The cohort is followed for outcomes, and groups are typically defined on the basis of exposure.
Also known as follow-up studies, incidence studies, prospective studies, panel studies, and longitudinal studies.

Types of Cohort Studies

Prospective cohort studies: assemble study groups in the present, collect baseline data, and continue to collect data for a period of time.
Retrospective cohort studies: use historical data to define a risk group and follow group members up to the present to see what outcomes have occurred.

Case Control Studies

The investigator selects the case group and the control group based on a defined outcome.
Compares the groups in terms of their frequency of past exposure to possible risk factors.

Ecologic Studies

Useful for comparing the health of populations at different places or different times.
Also useful in suggesting hypotheses but cannot be used to draw causal conclusions.
Provide no information about whether the people who were exposed to the characteristic were the same people who developed the disease.
Types of ecologic studies:
- Multi-group design: compares rates of diseases among different regions during the same period.
- Time-trend design/Longitudinal: compares rates of disease over time in a geographically defined population.
- Mixed design: shows temporal trends, forecasts future rates and trends.

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Description

This quiz covers different types of study designs in epidemiology, including cross-sectional and cohort studies. Understand the characteristics and outcomes of these study designs.