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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Study Design

Cross-sectional study

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, cross-sectional study means: A study that collects information from a population at one point in time, like a snapshot, to measure how common a disease, behaviour or exposure is.

In Turkish: kesitsel çalışma, kesitsel araştırma

How it is used

Most health surveys are cross-sectional and report prevalence. Because exposure and outcome are measured at the same time, these studies cannot show which came first, so they are weak at proving cause.

Example sentences

  1. We carried out a cross-sectional study of 3,000 households in rural areas.

  2. This cross-sectional study cannot tell us whether stress causes poor sleep or the other way round.

Common collocations

  • cross-sectional survey
  • cross-sectional design
  • cross-sectional data
  • carry out a cross-sectional study
  • prevalenceThe proportion of a population that has a disease or condition at a given time, counting both new and existing cases, often given as a percentage.
  • cohort studyAn observational study that follows a group of people over time, comparing those with and without an exposure to see who develops a disease or outcome.
  • observational studyA study in which researchers observe and measure people's exposures and outcomes without assigning any treatment or intervention themselves.
  • associationA statistical link between an exposure and an outcome, meaning they occur together more or less often than chance would predict, whether or not one causes the other.

More terms: Study Design

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