Criteria for the evaluation of large cohort studies: an application to the nurses' health study.

Full Abstract

Evaluating the success of major funding programs from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) remains a vexing challenge. We propose a set of criteria to evaluate epidemiological studies that fit within the discovery, development, and delivery paradigm introduced by the NIH. We apply these criteria to the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), a large epidemiological cohort study initiated in the 1970s to evaluate the associations between oral contraceptives and risk of breast cancer and between diet and other lifestyle factors and risk of cancer overall. Our evaluation suggests that the NHS has led to important changes in health practice, and it underscores the need to develop metrics that are suitable to the evaluation of large epidemiological cohort studies.

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Author information

Author/s: Colditz, Graham A (GA); Winn, Deborah M (DM);

Affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St Louis, MO, USA. colditzg(-atsign-)wustl.edu

Grants: CA89469 (Agency:United States NCI)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Journal of the National Cancer Institute (J Natl Cancer Inst), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jul; vol 100 (issue 13) : pp 918-25

Dates: Created 2008/07/02; Completed 2008/07/29;

PMID: 18577745, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Breast Neoplasms - epidemiology; etiology
Cohort Studies
Colonic Neoplasms - epidemiology; etiology
Coronary Disease - epidemiology; etiology
Cost of Illness
Diabetes Mellitus - epidemiology; etiology
Epidemiologic Studies
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Female
Health Status

Health Status
Humans
Hypertension - epidemiology; etiology
Motor Activity
National Cancer Institute (U.S.)
Nurses
Obesity - complications
Smoking - adverse effects
Stroke - epidemiology; etiology
United States

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