Cohort Study

Name
Course
Tutor
Date
Vitamin E Consumption and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Men
Describe the study research design
The research design conducted by Rimm et al. was a good example of a prospective cohort study. It involves the identification of the population that does not have the disease that is tested, and collects information on the exposure of the subjects to the risk factors, and involves following up the subjects over a period.
Strengths of the research design
The strength of choosing a prospective cohort study is that subjects are not required to recall past events that may have influenced results. Thus, there is a limited chance of bias occurring as the data is collected before the disease under study develops.
Weaknesses
Method used
When considering the method, the researchers examined about 39,910 healthy male professionals who were between the ages of 40 and 75 years assessing their dietary uptake through questionnaires (Rimm 1450). There was a follow-up four years later, which reassessed the health of the subjects.
Strength and weakness of the method
The use of a detailed questionnaire provided important data that would assist in making an accurate prediction on the relationship between different nutrients and heart disease. However, the method only used one class of subjects; there should have been participants and a control group. Doing so would have made the researcher findings more accurate.
Was supplement considered?
When considering the Vitamin E intake, supplement use was considered as part of the questionnaire questions, considering that a multivariate relative risk of Coronary Heart disease was discovered for those who took it.
Which outcome was examined?
The outcome examined was the relationship between vitamin E intake and the development of Coronary Heart Disease among
Which confounders were controlled?
AGE , bady mass index, currnt smoking, hypertintion, asprin use, exersies.
Multivitamin Research Study
Describe the study research design
The study research design used by Sesso et al. appears to be an intervention trial research study. In the study, the researcher assigned the participants to either receive or not receive multivitamins, which represents the nutritional intervention, and then observed them over a period, allowing them to observe whether the intervention influences the occurrence and development of the disease under investigation.
Strengths of the study research design
The benefit of the intervention trials is that it provides direct evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship. It is easy to attribute effects of the study to the factors that are investigated.
Weakness of the study research design
However, the use of intervention trials is that it can assess a limited number of factors at a time, especially due to limited resources required for the