Prospective Cohort Studies in Medical Research

Abstract

Cohort studies are the analytical design of observational studies that are epidemiologically used to identify and quantify the relationship between exposure and outcome. Due to the longitudinal design, cohort studies have several advantages over other types of observational studies. The purpose of this chapter is to cover the various characteristics of prospective cohort studies. This chapter is divided into three main sections. In the first we introduce the concept and ranking of cohort studies, as well as the advantages and disadvantages. In the second we focus on the design of cohort studies, mainly its prospective aspect, and the distinguishing features from the retrospective type. The section also covers the essential characteristics of a cohort study design and its varied applications in medical research. In the third we go over examples of prospective studies in the medical field. For each, an overview of the study design is given, along with a random selection of study findings/impact, strengths and weaknesses.

Plasma extracellular vesicle microRNA‐491‐5p as diagnostic and prognostic marker for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

“…The strength of our study is that clinical data and samples were obtained prospectively, which allows for the assessment of patient characteristics, treatments, disease progression, survival, and removal of recall bias data. 39 The miRNA profiles were identified from plasma‐derived EVs of patients with different primary tumor sites, which assists us in identifying a universal biomarker for patients with HNSCC. We undertook self‐normalization to eliminate the interindividual differences and minimize robust background miRNAs.…”

COPD-Related Factors Affect the Quality of Life of Patients

“…For instance, Monteagudo and colleagues observed a clinically important changes in HRQL in nearly two thirds of the study population (36.7% improving and 29.2% worsening HRQL). However, the loss to follow-up is common in prospective studies, which is an important limitation [28].…”

Population attributable fraction of leading non-communicable cardiovascular diseases due to leisure-time physical inactivity: a systematic review

“…The authors of this present study developed a list of data extraction template, based on the prospective cohort studies guidelines provided by Hammoudeh et al ,28 for the studies included in this systematic review. The criteria were developed by an expert in the field after reviewing potentially relevant checklists such as PRISMA26 and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials,29 30 due to their best association with journal impact indices 31.…”