ERIC Notebook

ERIC NOTEBOOK SERIES

Second Edition

Cross-sectional Studies
Second Edition Authors:
Lorraine K. Alexander, DrPH
Brettania Lopes, MPH
Kristen Ricchetti-Masterson, MSPH
Karin B. Yeatts, PhD, MS

Like cohort studies, cross-sectional

studies conceptually begin with a
population base. But unlike cohort
studies, in cross-sectional studies
we do not follow individuals over
time. Instead, we only look at the
prevalence of disease and/or
exposure at one moment in time.
These studies take a "snapshot" of
the proportion of individuals in the
population that are, for example,
diseased and non-diseased at one
point in time. Other health
outcomes besides diseases may
also be studied. Cross-sectional
studies also differ from cohort
studies in the populations that are
studied. Cohort studies begin by
selecting a population of persons
who are at risk of for a specific
disease or health outcome; crosssectional studies begin by selecting
a sample population and then
obtaining data to classify all
individuals in the sample as either
having or not having the health
outcome.
Cohort

Crosssectional

Study
group

Population-atrisk

Entire population (or a

sample)

Common
Measures

Risks and
Rates

Prevalence

Ways to use cross-sectional studies

Cross-sectional studies are used both
descriptively and analytically.
Descriptive cross-sectional studies
simply characterize the prevalence of
a health outcome in a specified
population. Prevalence can be
assessed at either one point in time
(point prevalence) or over a defined
period of time ( period prevalence).
Period prevalence is required when it
takes time to accumulate sufficient
information on a disease in a
population, e.g. what proportion of
persons served by a public health
clinic over a year have hypertension.
These prevalence measures are
commonly used in public health;
often the point or period aspect is not
specified.
In analytical cross-sectional studies,
data on the prevalence of both
exposure and a health outcome are
obtained for the purpose of comparing
health outcome differences between
exposed and unexposed.
Analytical studies attempt to describe
the prevalence of, for example,
disease or non-disease by first
beginning with a population base.
These studies differ from solely
descriptive cross-sectional studies in
that they compare the proportion of

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exposed persons who are diseased (a/(a+b)) with the

proportion of non-exposed persons who are diseased (c/
(c+d)).
Calculating prevalence
The prevalence of a health outcome is simply the
proportion of individuals with the health outcome in a
population.
Prevalence = cases / total population
For the following example, two different sub-measures of
prevalence can be calculated: the prevalence of coronary
heart disease (CHD) among the exposed (people who are
not active) and the prevalence of CHD among the
unexposed.

time for the case-control study. The PR is similar to a RR

when the outcome occurs over a short period of time. For
example, one would calculate a prevalence ratio for an
acute outbreak of tuberculosis in a prison population.
This is in contrast to calculating the overall prevalence of
positive tuberculin skin tests among the prisoners.
The prevalence ratio can also be calculated from the
information on CHD and physical activity. It is preferable
to calculate the prevalence odds ratio when the period for
being at risk of developing the outcome extends over a
considerable time (months to years) as it does in this
example:
PR = (a/N1) / (c/N0)
PR= (50/250) / (50/750) = 3.0

Present
CHD
50
a

Absent CHD

Total

In this case, a prevalence ratio of 3.0 can be interpreted

to mean that the proportion of people with CHD is 3-fold
greater if a person is not physically active.

200

250

POR vs. PR

Active

50

700

750

Total

100

900

1000

For chronic disease studies or studies of long-lasting risk

factors, POR is the preferred measure of association in
cross-sectional studies. For acute disease studies, PR is
the preferred measure of association. If the prevalence of
disease is low, i.e. 10% or less in exposed and unexposed
populations, POR = PR. Since cross-sectional studies are
particularly useful for investigating chronic diseases (e.g.
prevalence of AIDS) where the onset of disease is difficult
to determine, or for studying long lasting risk factors (such
as smoking, hypertension, and high fat diets), the
prevalence odds ratio will generally be the preferred
measure of association.

Example:

Not active

P1= a/a+b= 50/250 = 20.0% prevalence of

CHD among people who are not active.
P0= c/c+d = 50/750 = 6.7% prevalence of
CHD among people who are active.
The prevalence odds ratio
The prevalence odds ratio (POR) is calculated in the same
manner as the odds ratio.
POR = ad / bc

Limitations of cross-sectional studies to evaluate risk

Recall that, under steady conditions, the prevalence of
disease is influenced both by incidence and duration of
disease (or survival with disease).

The prevalence ratio

The prevalence ratio (PR) is analogous to the risk ratio (RR)
of cohort studies. The denominators for both ratios are
fixed populations fixed at the start of the study in the
case of a cohort study, and fixed at the point or period of

Prevalence = Rate x Average Duration of Disease

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Persons who survive longer with a disease will have a

higher probability of being counted in the numerator of a
prevalence proportion. Short-term survivors will be less
likely to be counted as a case. Incidence is influenced only
by exposure, whereas prevalence is influenced both by
exposure and duration of disease.
If exposure influences survival time, then the POR or PR
will not provide a valid estimate of the risk ratio or rate
ratio. Thus, the interpretation of the POR or PR is subject
to survival bias.
Even if incidence remains constant, either an
improvement in disease treatment (that results in higher
cure rates) or increased lethality (resulting in a higher case
fatality rate) will result in decreased prevalence. The
disease itself or the threat of developing the disease may
cause outmigration of cases from an environment
perceived as causing disease, e.g. workers affected by
toxic exposures in a plant may quit, while more resistant
workers will stay. This selective migration can bias
measures of prevalence.
Other problems with interpretation of cross-sectional
studies
Cross-sectional studies as well as case-control studies are
affected by the antecedent-consequent bias, similar to the
chicken and egg question (i.e. which came first?). This
bias occurs when it cannot be determined that exposure
preceded disease, since both are ascertained at the same
time (unlike cohort studies or clinical trials). Antecedentconsequent bias does not affect cohort studies because
subjects in cohort studies are selected for study because
they are disease-free. Exposure is actually observed to
precede disease only in a cohort design, including
randomized trials.
Uses of cross-sectional studies

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Descriptive cross-sectional studies are widely used to

estimate the occurrence of risk factors in segments of the
population characterized by age, sex, race or
socioeconomic status (SES). National examples of crosssectional studies of great importance are the decennial
census and the National Health and Nutrition Surveys
(NHANES). Opinion polls and political polls are basically
cross-sectional studies. Surveillance of changes in
smoking habits or of other behavioral risk factors are
sequential cross-sectional studies. The US National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is one
such example Similarly, surveillance of long lasting
diseases such as AIDS is cross-sectional. Descriptive
cross-sectional studies are useful for planning or
administering preventive or health care services,
surveillance programs, and surveys and polls.
Descriptive/analytical cross-sectional studies are useful
for establishing preliminary evidence for a causal
relationship. These studies are also useful for examining
the association between exposure and disease onset for
chronic diseases where researchers lack information on
time of onset. Examples might include diet and arthritis,
smoking and chronic bronchitis, and asthma and
exposure to air pollution. Interpretation requires caution
regarding potential association of duration of disease with
exposure status (survival bias).
Survival bias may be minimized if information can be
obtained on exposures that clearly preceded the first
symptoms of a chronic disease such as arthritis, diabetes,
or chronic bronchitis. This depends on access to medical
records before the onset of a chronic disease. In addition,
it may be necessary to have historical records on an
individuals exposure status prior to these first medical
visits, e.g. where the person lived or where the person was
employed.

Descriptive studies are an important method to evaluate

the proportion of a population with disease or with risk
factors for disease, such as the prevalence of asthma in
children or the prevalence of elevated blood lead in
toddlers.

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Acknowledgement
Terminology
Antecedent-consequent bias: occurs in crosssectional studies when it cannot be determined if
exposure preceded disease.
Prevalence: the proportion of diseased individuals in
a population.
Survival bias: occurs in cross-sectional studies when
the exposure influences survival time, and the
distribution of that exposure will be distorted among a
sample of survivors. (a.k.a. Neyman bias, incidenceprevalence bias, or selective survival bias)

The authors of the Second Edition of the ERIC Notebook

would like to acknowledge the authors of t he
ERIC N ot ebook, First Edition: Michel Ib rahim ,
MD, PhD, Lorraine Alexander, DrPH, Carl Shy,
MD, DrPH, Gayle Shimokura, MSPH and Sherry
Farr, GRA, Departm ent of Epidem iology at the
Univers it y of N ort h Carolina at Chapel Hill. The
First Edit ion of the ERIC Notebook was
produced b y the Educational Arm of t he
Epidem iologic Research and Information Cent er
at Durham , N C. The funding for t he ERIC
N ot eb ook First Edit ion was provided b y t he
Departm ent of V et erans Affairs (DV A), V et erans
Healt h Adm inist rat ion (V HA), Cooperat ive
St udies Program (CSP) to prom ot e the s t rat egic
growt h of the epidemiologic capacit y of t he
DV A.

Resources:
Delgado-Rodriguez M and Llorca J. J Epidemiol Community
Health. 2004;58:635641.
Dr. Carl M. Shy, Epidemiology 160/600 Introduction to
Epidemiology for Public Health course lectures, 19942001, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Department of Epidemiology
Rothman KJ, Greenland S. Modern Epidemiology. Second
Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins,
1998.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department
of Epidemiology Courses: Epidemiology 710,
Fundamentals of Epidemiology course lectures, 20092013, and Epidemiology 718, Epidemiologic Analysis of
Binary Data course lectures, 2009-2013.

ERIC at the UNC CH Department of Epidemiology Medical Center