Card 3 / 11: Low serum levels of cholesterol have been associated with depression. (This is true! I did not make this up. It is not clear why, but I like to think that ice cream deprivation may be an explanation ?- :) - JEF) Based on this observation, investigators conducted a study to examine the association of serum cholesterol levels and suicide. They used a database from a health maintenance organization to identify persons who had normal cholesterol and persons who had high cholesterol levels identified by their physician at least 10 years ago. The investigators then linked this information to the National Death Index to identify persons who had later died by suicide. What type of study was this?
Answer:
This was a retrospective cohort study. It is a cohort study because the groups were assembled based on their exposure status. It is retrospective because the suicides had already occurred when the investigators began their study. (By the way, they did find an association between low cholesterol and suicide. Perhaps we need to start thinking of ice cream as medicine. :)
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Epidemiology & Biostatistics Cohort Studies
Author:
Dr.Janet ForresterProfessor
Tufts University School of Medicine
USA
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