Evaluating Observational Studies

Question 1

What are observational studies good for?

Answer 1

Rare events and events that take a long time to develop

Question 2

What are two broad issues that should be considered for observation studies?

Answer 2

Internal and external validity

Question 3

What was the data source and type for the paper?

Answer 3

Secondary data source: automated healthcare data

Question 4

Exposure to statin therapy was assessed by

Answer 4

measuring patient adherence through calculation of PDC.

Question 5

PDC was calculated by

Answer 5

cumulative number of days in which the medicine was available/ number of days of follow-up

Question 6

What statistical methods were used for the analyses?

Answer 6

Chi-squared, incidence rate, unadjusted and adjusted HR

Question 7

What kind of bias did the paper have?

Answer 7

Detection bias