HESC 401 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Infertility, Coronary Artery Disease, Menopause
Document Summary
To describe the design of a cohort study, and to distinguish it from a randomized trial. To illustrate the cohort study design with two important examples. To discuss some potential biases in cohort studies. Determine there is an association between a factor/characteristic and the development of a disease. Derive a possible relationship from the patterns of associations found. A group of exposed people and a group of non-exposed people are gathered; the incidence/rate of death is collected in both groups: may include more than two groups. If there is a positive association with the exposure and disease, then it can be said the incidence in the exposed group is higher than the non-exposed group. Both types of studies compare exposed with non-exposed group (control) or different exposure. However, there are differences: cohort studies will generally focus on the exposure of a toxic agent, not the consumption of a drug, cohort studies are not randomized.
