A research team is interested in whether warfarin a medication to prevent clotting) reduces the risk of stroke. They ask warfarin's manufacturer for the number of annual warfarin prescriptions in the US from 1990-2000 and use data from death certificates to assess the numbers of deaths due to stroke in the US during the same time period. The resulting graph showed that the number of annual warfarin prescriptions increased in the US from 1990-2000 while stroke mortality in the US declined from 1990-2000. What type of study is this?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an ecological study because it examines the relationship between exposure (warfarin prescriptions) and outcome (stroke mortality) at the population level over a period of time, rather than focusing on individual-level data.

A Research Team Is Interested in Whether Warfarin a Medication