The importance of selection bias in prospective birth cohort studies

Abstract

Sophisticated statistical analyses of data from large-scale prospective birth cohort studies combined with thoughtful study designs have advanced understanding about the causes, consequences and developmental course of child and adolescent mental health problems. Available large-scale prospective cohort studies, such as ALSPAC, MoBA, and TEDS have many noteworthy strengths, but they all suffer from non-random non-participation and attrition over time. Recent findings have highlighted that prospective birth cohort studies need to carefully consider the importance of selection bias.

Topics & Concepts