Research methods for pharmacoepidemiology studies

Pharmacoepidemiology (PE) is the discipline that studies the frequency and distribution of health and disease in human populations, as a result of the use and effects (beneficial and adverse) of drugs. PE uses methods similar to traditional epidemiologic investigation, but applies them to the area of clinical pharmacology. This chapter will review the factors involved in the selection of the type of pharmacoepidemiologic study design, and advantages and disadvantages of these designs. Since other chapters describe randomized clinical trials in detail, we will focus on observational studies.

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