Cohort Study


Step 1: Learning Objectives

  1. Apply the principles of cohort studies:
    1. Define population at risk of disease
    2. Define eligibility criteria for study participants
    3. Define exposure
      • Timing and measurement
    4. Define outcome
      • Ascertainment of outcome
  2. Employ steps in data analysis of cohort studies to analyze the data:
    1. Administrative procedures before start of the study
    2. Calculate relative risk based on simple counts
      • Interpret your estimate
    3. Calculate relative rate from person-year information
      • Interpret your estimate
    4. Calculate relative risk in exposure subgroups
      • Interpret your estimate
    5. Calculate standardized incidence ratio
      • Interpret your estimate
  3. Explain your findings and discuss problems in data analysis:
    1. Reconcile the differences between relative risk and relative rate estimates
    2. Give your suggestions for carrying out this retrospective cohort study
    3. Analyze results of exposure subgroup analysis and suggest how they influence our certainty about the results of the study
    4. Discuss the value of age standardization
    5. Compare the values of crude and age-adjusted relative rates with standardized incidence ratio and explain the difference
    6. Design a prospective cohort study which would investigate the relationship between exposure and outcome
    7. Discuss the value of statistical data analysis for conclusions about causality of the exposure-outcome relationship

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