Descriptive Study - 22

Study Design-Descriptive
studies
Dr. R. M. Suryawanshi
MD, PhD
Associate Professor,
Department of Rasashastra and Bhaishajya
Kalpana
PMT’s Ayurved College, Shevgaon.
Email –suryawanshirenuka@yahoo.com
9423273626
8/22/22 suryawanshirenuka@yahoo.com 2
Why we conduct studies?
 To estimate prevalence, incidence,

proportion.
 To find out association between
cause and effect
 To see effect of any medicine,
treatment or vaccine
 To compare two diagnostic tests
8/22/22 3
suryawanshirenuka@yahoo.com
Study design
 A research design is the set of methods or

procedures used in collecting and analyzing
measures of variables specified in research study.
 It is a strategy specifying which approach
will be used for gathering and analyzing data.
 Blueprint for – conducting research in a
efficient manner
- find answers to research questions.
Characteristics of good research design
Minimizes bias and maximizes accuracy

and reliability.
Data collected and analyzed have few
errors as possible.
flexible, appropriate, efficient,
economical
Intervention done
No Yes
Observational Experimental study
Comparison Randomization
Yes
No No Yes
Analytical RCT
Descriptive study NRCT
study
Case
Case report
control
Case series cohort
Cross –sectional studies
Longitudinal study
Epidemiologi
c study
Descriptive Analytical
Individuals Populations Observational Interventional
Ecological
Case reports Case control
study
Cohort
Case series
studies
Cross
sectional
surveys
Hierarchy of Research design
Descriptive study
Who
Person
What Place Where
Time
When
Aims
 To observe, describe and

document aspects of a situation as it
naturally occurs without any
manipulation or control.
Objectives of the study
To describe incidence or prevalence of
disease
Natural history of disease
Distribution of disease according to
variables related to person , place and
time.
To gain more information about
characteristics in selected area.
Generate hypothesis.
Descriptive studies
Case report
Case series
Cross - sectional
Ecological
studies
Case report
Brief, objective report of clinical characteristic or
outcome from a single clinical subject or event.
New or unfamiliar diseases.
Rare manifestations
Results are rarely generalizable
Generate hypothesis regarding
pathophysiological mechanism.
Case series
Study of larger group of patients (e.g.>10)
Larger number may allow the investigator to
assess the play of chance.
 Objective and brief report of a clinical
characteristic or outcome from a group of
clinical subjects.
 Suffers from the absence of a comparison
group.
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Ecological studies
Group as the unit of analysis
No individual level information on
the distribution of exposure and
diseases.
Relate whether populations with high
risk rates of disease also have high
frequency of the suspected exposure.
Cross sectional study
Observation of a cross-section of a
population at a single point in time.
- Unit of observation and analysis:
Individual
Collect information about disease burden.
 Also known as Prevalence study
 Observation for the presence of
 - One or more outcomes
 - One or more exposures
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suryawanshirenuka@yahoo.com 18
Uses of Cross sectional surveys
Estimate prevalence of disease or their risk

factors.
Distribution of health problem by time, place and
person
- Plan health care services delivery
Set priorities for disease control
Generate hypothesis
Examples of R.Q.to be addressed through
surveys
What is the prevalence of hypertension in

Ahmednagar city?
How satisfied are patients attending
government hospitals in Aurangabad?
What is the prevalence of physical
inactivity among school children?
Advantages and limitations of C.S.
Advantages
- Fairly quick and easy to perform
- Less expensive
Limitations
- Not useful to study disease etiology
- Not suitable for the study of rare
diseases.
Major limitation
Exposures and outcomes examined at the

same time.
e.g. Obesity and diabetes
Strengths Weaknesses
 Quick and easy to conduct  Difficult to find out

 Low cost whether the outcome
 Data related to all followed exposure in time
variables collected at or actually exposure
once. resulted due to outcome.
 Can study multiple  Not suitable for studying
outcomes and exposures rare disease or disease
 Best way to understand with shorter duration.
disease load and plan the  Measures prevalent cases
health service and allocate rather than incident cases.
resources.  Bias – low response, recall
Cross sectional study

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Early menarche is independently associated with subclinical hypothyroidism:
a cross-sectional study.
Kotopouli M1, Stratigou T1,2, Antonakos G3, Christodoulatos GS1, Karampela I1,
Dalamaga M4.
Abstract
Background Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is more frequent in females than males,
with a female to male ratio ranging from 1.5 to 5 in the general population. The aim of
this study was to evaluate for the first time the association of reproductive factors,
particularly age at menarche, with SH risk. Materials and methods In a cross-sectional
study, reproductive factors such as age at menarche, at menopause and at first birth,
lactation, parity, full-term pregnancies, reproductive years, use of oral contraceptives and
hormonal replacement therapy, somatometric data and insulin resistance parameters were
recorded in 72 consecutive female patients with SH and 72 healthy female controls
matched on age (±5 years) and date of diagnosis (±1 month). Results SH cases exhibited
significantly younger age at menarche than controls (12.6 ± 1.2 vs. 13.3 ± 0.8 years,
respectively, p < 0.001). Cases presented later age at first pregnancy with a lower
number of full-term pregnancies (p = 0.04). Early age at menarche was independently
associated with SH risk, above and beyond thyroid autoimmunity, body mass index
(BMI), hip circumference (HC), homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance and
alcohol consumption [odds ratio (OR): 0.22, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.11-0.44; p
< 0.001]. Conclusions It is possible that an interplay of early exposure to estrogens, as
expressed by early menarche, and induction of thyroid autoimmunity may be associated
with SH risk. More prospective studies shedding light on the role of estrogens in SH are
required to confirm these findings.
Association between maternal serious mental illness and adverse birth
outcomes.
Heun-Johnson H1,2, Seabury SA3,4, Menchine M3,5, Claudius I6, Axeen S3,5,
Lakshmanan A3,7,8.
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the contribution of serious mental illness (SMI) and specific risk
factors (comorbidities and substance use) to the risk of adverse birth outcomes.
STUDY DESIGN:
This cross-sectional study uses maternal delivery records in the Healthcare Cost
and Utilization Project Nationwide/National Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) to
estimate risk factor prevalence and relative risk of adverse birth outcomes (e.g.,
preeclampsia, preterm birth, and fetal distress) in women with SMI.
RESULTS:
The relative risk of adverse gestational (1.15, 95% CI: 1.13-1.17), obstetric (1.07,
1.06-1.08), and fetal (1.24, 1.21-1.26) outcomes is increased for women with SMI.
After adjusting for risk factors, the risk is significantly reduced but remains
elevated for all three adverse outcome categories (gestational: 1.08, 1.06-1.09;
obstetric: 1.03, 1.02-1.05; fetal: 1.12, 1.09-1.14).
CONCLUSIONS:
Maternal serious mental illness is independently associated with increased risk for
adverse birth outcomes. However, approximately half of the excess risk is
attributable to comorbidities and substance use.
Steps in Descriptive studies
Research question
Methodology – Enlist variables, scales of

measurement, Define Disease sample size
Data collection
Analysis
Conclusion - Hypothesis generation

Take home messages
 Case reports and Case series are useful for

uncommon clinical manifestation.
 Ecological studies can be used to relate group

level data and generate hypothesis.
 Cross sectional surveys help to measure the

burden or magnitude of disease or health condition.
In cross- sectional survey we can
observe one or more outcomes
a)True
b)False
Ans:- A
Which of the following is incorrect
for descriptive study designs ?
a)Describe the study outcome for 1 group

b)Compare the study outcomes for 2 groups
c)Calculate the incidence for surveillance
data
d)Calculate prevalence for cross-sectional
study.
Ans:- B
Prevalence is usually estimated
from this study design
a)Cross- sectional study

b)Cohort study
c)Ecological study
d)Case-control study
Ans- A
We do not have any comparison
group in case series:
a)True
b)False
Ans: A
Cross-sectional study is a type
of
a)Descriptive study
b)Qualitative study
c)Analytical observational study
d)Analytical interventional study
Ans: A
Unit of observation in the cross-
sectional study :
a)Individual
b)Group
c) Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
d)None of the above
A
Just relax for a while ….

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Study Design-Descriptive

 To estimate prevalence, incidence,

 A research design is the set of methods or

Minimizes bias and maximizes accuracy

Case series cohort

Cross –sectional studies

Individuals Populations Observational Interventional

 To observe, describe and

Estimate prevalence of disease or their risk

What is the prevalence of hypertension in

Exposures and outcomes examined at the

 Quick and easy to conduct  Difficult to find out

Cross sectional study

Methodology – Enlist variables, scales of

Conclusion - Hypothesis generation

 Case reports and Case series are useful for

 Ecological studies can be used to relate group

 Cross sectional surveys help to measure the

a)Describe the study outcome for 1 group

a)Cross- sectional study

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