What is a cohort design?

An observational design where patients are selected on the basis of an exposure variable. Contrast this with a case control design. Here is an example:

• In Beral et al (1999), general practitioners in the United Kingdom recruited 23,000 women who were using oral contraceptives and a similar number of women who were not using oral contraceptives. The researchers followed both groups of women for 25 years and noted how many died.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. It was written by Steve Simon on 2002-10-11, edited by Steve Simon, and was last modified on 2010-04-01. This page needs minor revisions. Category: Definitions, Category: Research designs.