PCM1: Analytic & Cohort Studies

=Objectives=

Analytic epidemiology seeks to test hypotheses about possible disease risk factors.


 * primary prevention
 * Interventions to reduce or eliminate exposure to the risk factor in populations. Interventions are very challenging.


 * secondary prevention
 * intervene to prevent and slow disease progression to reduce morbidity and mortality. Most cohort studies focus on this

Retrospective cohort study
Describe the general features of cohort studies and be able to answer the following questions:

How are subjects evaluated?

 * Subjects care periodically evaluated and classified throughout time. For example, a single evaluation of a person being a non-smoker does not mean that they will NOT be smoking
 * Outcome measures need to meet a standard definition or criteria. The definition must be applied equally to the exposed and unexposed groups.
 * Outcomes may be self-reported, come from a independent source like a medical record, or be collected as data by the study personnel.

What measure of frequency is used?

 * Have measurements of incidence in people who are developing the condition under certain conditions.
 * Events per person years.

Identify the two types of cohort studies
Use two groups of people who are yet to develop the outcome. At baseline, the exposure to various confounding factors are collected.

Compare and contrast the major features of Prospective cohort study and retrospective (historical) cohort study
Describe the unique kinds of information (unique advantages) cohort studies provide that other studies can't provide.