cohort

cohort /co·hort/ (ko´hort)

1. in epidemiology, a group of individuals sharing a common characteristic and observed over time in the group.

2. a taxonomic category approximately equivalent to a division, order, or suborder in various systems of classification.

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co·hort (khôrt)

n.

A defined population group followed prospectively in an epidemiological study.

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cohort

[kō′hôrt]

Etymology: L, cohortem, large group

(in statistics) a collection or sampling of individuals who share a common characteristic, such as members of the same age or the same sex.

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cohort,

n in statistics, a collection or sampling of individuals who share a common characteristic, such as the same age or sex.

cohort study,

n a scientific study that focuses on a specific subpopulation, such as children born on a certain date in a specific environment.

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cohort

in epidemiology a group of individuals who share a characteristic acquired at the same time. The term usually refers to a birth cohort, which contains animals born in a specified time period.

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cohort studies

a prospective or follow-up, analytical, epidemiological study. The investigation identifies a group of animals which have the hypothesized cause and which are free of the disease of interest, and a comparison group of animals which are free of the hypothesized cause. Both groups, the cohorts, are followed over time to determine the incidence rates of the disease in question in each of the two groups.

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cohort

Clinical trials A group of persons with a common characteristic, set of characteristics or exposure, who are followed for the incidence of new diseases or events, as in a cohort for a prospective study. See Birth cohort, Cluster, Inception cohort.