Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cohort Studies

  • Reference work entry
Handbook of Epidemiology

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the basic features of cohort studies, a type of observational epidemiology study that some have also called longitudinal, or prospective, though these terms also apply to other epidemiological designs. A cohort study evaluates both the risk and the rate of disease or disease-related outcomes in a population that is characterized in terms of relevant risk factors or exposures, placed under observation, and followed for some time until disease develops or not. In contrast to its classical counterpart, the case-control study (cf. chapter Case-Control Studies of this handbook), cohort studies can relate multiple diseases to the exposure or exposures identified. On the other hand, cohort studies are frequently restricted to a limited number of exposures and potential confounders that can be included in the study, especially if historical data are used.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 999.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 1,399.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Blair A, Stewart PA (1992) Do quantitative exposure assessments improve risk estimates in occupational studies of cancer? Am J Ind Med 21:53–63

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benichou J (1998) Absolute risk. In: Armitage P, Colton T (eds) Encyclopedia of biostatistics. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Breslow NE, Day NE (1987) Statistical methods in cancer research. Volume II: The design and analysis of cohort studies. IARC scientific publications no. 82. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  • Case RA, Hosker ME, McDonald DB, Pearson JT (1954) Tumours of the urinary bladder in workmen engaged in the manufacture and use of certain dyestuff intermediates in the British chemical industry. Br J Ind Med 11:75–104

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cho E, Smith-Warner SA, Spiegelman D, Beeson WL, van den Brandt PA, Colditz GA, Folsom AR, Fraser GE, Freudenheim JL, Giovannucci E, Goldbohm RA, Graham S, Miller AB, Pietinen P, Potter JD, Rohan TE, Terry P, Toniolo P, Virtanen MJ, Willett WC, Wolk A, Wu K, Yaun S-S, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Hunter DJ (2004) Dairy foods, calcium, and colorectal cancer: a pooled analysis of 10 cohort studies. J Natl Cancer Inst 96:1015–1022

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman M, Douglas A, Hermon C, Peto J (1986) Cohort study analysis with a FORTRAN computer program. Int J Epidemiol 15:134–137

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Day NE, Ferrari P (2002) Some methodological issues in nutritional epidemiology. In: Riboli E, Lambert A (eds) Nutrition and lifestyle: opportunities for cancer prevention. IARC scientific publications no. 156. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, pp 5–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Doll R, Hill AB (1954) The mortality of doctors in relation to their smoking habits: a preliminary report. Br Med J 1:1451–1455

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doll R, Peto R (1976) Mortality in relation to smoking: 20 years’ observations on male British doctors. Br Med J 2:1525–1536

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doll R, Peto R, Hall E, Wheatley K, Gray R (1994a) Mortality in relation to consumption of alcohol: 13 years’ observations on male British doctors. Br Med J 309:911–918

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doll R, Peto R, Wheatley K, Gray R, Sutherland I (1994b) Mortality in relation to smoking: 40 years’ observations on male British doctors. Br Med J 309:901–911

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eigenbrodt ML, Mosley TH, Hutchinson RG, Watson RL, Chambless LE, Szklo M (2001) Alcohol consumption with age: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, 1987–1995. Am J Epidemiol 153:1102–1111

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Estonian Genome Center (2011) Estonian Genome Center 2001–2011. University of Tartu. http://www.geenivaramu.ee/documents/estoniangenomecenter.pdf. Accessed 3 Mar 2012

  • Flanders WD, Lally CA, Zhu BP, Henley SJ, Thun MJ (2003) Lung cancer mortality in relation to age, duration of smoking, and daily cigarette consumption: results from Cancer Prevention Study II. Cancer Res 63:6556–6562

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg M, Luce D (2001) Selection effects in epidemiological cohorts: nature, causes and consequences. Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique 49:477–492

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greenland S, Robins JM (1988) Conceptual problems in the definition and interpretation of attributable fractions. Am J Epidemiol 128:1185–1197

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Howe GR, Friedenreich CM, Jain M (1983) A follow-up of a ten-percent sample of the Canadian labor force. I. Cancer mortality in males, 1965–73. J Natl Cancer Inst 70:37–44

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Howe GR, Friedenreich CM, Jain M, Miller AB (1991) A cohort study of fat intake and risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 83:336–340

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • IARC Working Group (2003) IARC handbooks on cancer prevention, vol 8: Fruits and vegetables. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleinbaum DG, Kupper LL, Morgenstern H (1982) Epidemiologic research: principles and quantitative methods. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Koushik A, Hunter DJ, Spiegelman D, Anderson KE, Buring JE, Freudenheim JL, Goldbohm RA, Hankinson SE, Larsson SC, Leitzmann M, Marshall JR, McCullough ML, Miller AB, Rodriguez C, Rohan TE, Ross JA, Schatzkin A, Schouten LJ, Willett WC, Wolk A, Zhang SM, Smith-Warner SA (2006) Intake of the major carotenoids and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in a pooled analysis of 10 cohort studies. Int J Cancer 119:2148–2154

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li CY, Sung FC (1999) A review of the healthy worker effect in occupational epidemiology. Occup Med 49:225–229

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liddell FD, McDonald AD, McDonald JC (1997) The 1891–1920 birth cohort of Quebec chrysotile miners and millers: development from 1904 and mortality to 1992. Ann Occup Hyg 41:13–36

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCray E (1986) Occupational risk of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome among health care workers. N Engl J Med 314:1127–1132

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller AB, To T, Agnew DA, Wall C, Green LM (1996) Leukemia following occupational exposure to 60-Hz electric and magnetic fields among Ontario electric utility workers. Am J Epidemiol 144:150–160

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller AB, Altenburg H-P, Bueno de Mesquita B, Boshuizen HC, Agudo A, Berrino F, Gram IT, Janson L, Linseisen J, Overvad K, Rasmuson T, Vineis P, Lukanova A, Allen N, Amiano P, Barricarte A, Berglund G, Boeing H, Clavel-Chapelon F, Day NE, Hallmans G, Lund E, Martinez C, Navarro C, Palli D, Panico S, Peeters PH, Quiros JR, Tjonneland A, Tumino R, Trichopoulou A, Trichopoulos D, Slimani N, Riboli E (2004) Fruits and vegetables and lung cancer: findings from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Int J Cancer 108 269–276

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan RW, Kelsh MA, Zhao K, Exuzides KA, Heringer S, Negrete W (2000) Radiofrequency exposure and mortality from cancer of the brain and lymphatic/hematopoietic systems. Epidemiology 11:118–127

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris JN, Heady JA, Raffle PA, Roberts CG, Parks JW (1953a) Coronary heart disease and physical activity of work. Lancet 265:1053–1057

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris JN, Heady JA, Raffle PA, Roberts CG, Parks JW (1953b) Coronary heart disease and physical activity of work. Lancet 265:1111–1120

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • National Institutes of Health (2004) Request for information: design and implementation of a large-scale prospective cohort study of genetic and environmental influences on common diseases. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-04-041.html Accessed 1 Mar 2012

  • Oomen CM, Ocke MC, Feskens EJ, van Erp-Baart MA, Kok FJ, Kromhout D (2001) Association between trans fatty acid intake and 10-year risk of coronary heart disease in the Zutphen Elderly Study: a prospective population-based study. Lancet 357:746–751

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Orencia AJ, Petty GW, Khandheria BK, Annegers JF, Ballard DJ, Sicks JD, O’Fallon WM, Whisnant JP (1995) Risk of stroke with mitral valve prolapse in population-based cohort study. Stroke 26:7–13

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Preston DL, Lubin JH, Pierce DA, McConney ME (1993) Epicure user’s guide. HiroSoft International Corp, Seattle

    Google Scholar 

  • Riboli E, Kaaks R (1997) The EPIC project: rationale and study design. European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Int J Epidemiol 26(Suppl 1):S6–S14

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rinsky RA, Smith AB, Hornung R, Filloon TG, Young RJ, Okun AH, Landrigan PJ (1987) Benzene and leukemia. An epidemiologic risk assessment. New Engl J Med 316:1044–1050

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rittgen W, Becker N (2000) SMR analysis of historical follow-up studies with missing death certificates. Biometrics 56:1164–1169

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rothman KJ, Greenland S (1998) Modern epidemiology, 2nd edn. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahai H, Khurshid A (1996) Statistics in epidemiology. Methods, techniques, and applications. CRC, Boca Raton/New York/London/Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  • Selikoff IJ, Churg J, Hammond EC (1965) The occurrence of asbestosis among insulation workers in U.S.A. Ann N Y Acad Sci 132:139–155

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silcocks P (1994) Estimating confidence limits on a standardised mortality ratio when the expected number is not error free. J Epidemiol Community Health 48:313–317

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith-Warner SA, Spiegelman D, Yaun SS, Albanes D, Beeson WL, van den Brandt PA, Feskanich D, Folsom AR, Fraser GE, Freudenheim JL, Giovannucci E, Goldbohm RA, Graham S, Kushi LH, Miller AB, Pietinen P, Rohan TE, Speizer FE, Willett WC, Hunter DJ (2003) Fruits, vegetables and lung cancer: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. Int J Cancer 107:1001–1011

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith-Warner SA, Spiegelman D, Ritz J, Albanes D, Beeson WL, Bernstein L, Berrino F, van den Brandt PA, Buring JE, Cho E, Colditz GA, Folsom AR, Freudenheim JL, Giovannucci E, Goldbohm RA, Graham S, Harnack L, Horn-Ross PL, Krogh V, Leitzmann MF, McCullough ML, Miller AB, Rodriguez C, Rohan TE, Schatzkin A, Shore R, Virtanen M, Willett WC, Wolk A, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Zhang SM, Hunter DJ (2006) Methods for pooling results of epidemiologic studies. The pooling project of prospective studies of diet and cancer. Am J Epidemiol 163:1053–1064

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snow J (1855) On the mode of communication of cholera. Churchill, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland J (2002) EXTRACTS from appendix (A) to the Report of the General Board of Health on the Epidemic Cholera of 1848 & 1849. Int J Epidemiol 31:900–907

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • StataCorp (2001) Stata statistical software: release 7.0. Stata Corporation, College Station

    Google Scholar 

  • Terris M (ed) (1964) Goldberger on pellagra. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge

    Google Scholar 

  • Theriault G, Goldberg M, Miller AB, Armstrong B, Guenel P, Deadman J, Imbernon E, To T, Chevalier A, Cyr D (1994) Cancer risks associated with occupational exposure to magnetic fields among electric utility workers in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, and France: 1970–1989. Am J Epidemiol 139:550–572

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tomatis L, Aitio A, Day NE, Heseltine E, Kalder J, Miller AB, Parkin DM, Riboli E (eds) (1990) Cancer: causes, occurrence and control. IARC scientific publications No. 100. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulvestad B, Kjaerheim K, Martinsen JI, Mowe G, Andersen A (2004) Cancer incidence among members of the Norwegian trade union of insulation workers. J Occup Environ Med 46:84–89

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Villeneuve PJ, Agnew DA, Corey PN, Miller AB (1998) Alternate indices of electric and magnetic field exposures among Ontario electrical utility workers. Bioelectromagnetics 19:140–151

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wada S, Miyanishi M, Nishimoto Y, Kambe S, Miller RW (1968) Mustard gas as a cause of respiratory neoplasia in man. Lancet 1:1161–1163

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Willett WC, Hunter DJ, Stampfer MJ, Colditz G, Manson JE, Spiegelman D, Rosner B, Hennekens CH, Speizer FE (1992) Dietary fat and fiber in relation to risk of breast cancer. An 8-year follow-up. J Am Med Assoc 268:2037–2044

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wolk A, Bergstrom R, Hunter D, Willett W, Ljung H, Holmberg L, Bergkvist L, Bruce A, Adami HO (1998) A prospective study of association of monounsaturated fat and other types of fat with risk of breast cancer. Arch Intern Med 158:41–45

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Anthony B. Miller

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Anschutz Medical Campus, Building 500, 3rd Floor, Suite 300, Aurora, CO, USA

    David C. Goff Jr.

  3. Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research, Faculty of Human and Health Sciences, University of Bremen, Grazer Str. 2, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Karin BammannDr.

  4. Direction scientifique (Scientific Management), Occupational Health and Safety Institute (INRS), Rue du Morvan, CS 60027, 54519, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France

    Pascal Wild

Authors
  1. Anthony B. Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David C. Goff Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Karin BammannDr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Pascal Wild
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiological Methods and Etiologic Research, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS, Bremen, Germany

    Wolfgang Ahrens

  2. Department of Biometry and Data Management, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS, Bremen, Germany

    Iris Pigeot

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Miller, A.B., Goff, D.C., BammannDr., K., Wild, P. (2014). Cohort Studies. In: Ahrens, W., Pigeot, I. (eds) Handbook of Epidemiology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09834-0_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09834-0_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-09833-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-09834-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation