Limitations Of Cross Sectional Study Design

Levin 2006 proposes that cross sectional studies are carried out at a specific point.

Limitations of cross sectional study design. In a longitudinal study each participant is observed at multiple time points thereby allowing trends in an outcome to be monitored over time. Cannot be used to analyze behavior over a period to time. Longitudinal studies may be prospective or retrospective and observational or experimental in design.

A cross sectional study is not longitudinal by design a is false. The nature of cross sectional studies offers a quick and easy way for an epidemiologist or any kind of. Limitations of cross sectional studies 2 1 not useful for studying rare exposures outcomes as have too few people to make estimate prevalence 2 can t assess causation as both outcome and exposure are measured at a single point in time relative risk aka risk ratio.

Findings can be flawed or skewed if there is a conflict of interest with the. The first limitation is that it makes use of a cross sectional survey design focusing on quantitative data. Non response is a particular problem affecting cross sectional studies and can result in bias of the measures of outcome.

This is a particular problem when the characteristics of non responders differ from responders. Ease of data gathering and assessment. The timing of the snapshot is not guaranteed to be representative.

As cross sectional studies measure prevalent rather than incident cases the data will always reflect determinants of survival as well as aetiology 1 unable to measure incidence. This is because such studies offer a snapshot of a single moment in time. Potential bias in cross sectional studies.

Recall bias can occur if the study asks participants about past exposures. Low to moderate cost. Advantages disadvantages of cross sectional studies.