the retrospective survey is a kind of comparative and historical study in order to reveal the factors and incidents’ effects on a particular case outcome.
A retrospective survey study is a prophylactic study of many medical and social diseases, where scientists will study the risk factors that influence the recent outcome and avoids them in the future.
Now, we will get deeper into the retrospective methodology, types, and examples.
retrospective survey definition
retrospective surveys are inductive surveys, not experimental studies, the scientists make their study on two groups.
Here we are studying the factor or factors which affected this sample over the past time, So, it’s a kind of historical study that depends on the previous data which was previously collected.
The opposite type of retrospective survey is prospective which means data will begin during the time of the study.
There are two types of retrospective surveys cohort and case control.
Cohort retrospective survey
In this type of survey study, one factor will affect the population over time and leads to an outcome at the time of the study, so it studies the effect of certain factor till the outcome.
here, we use two groups one of them the group who had been exposed to the targeted factor, and the other group (placebo group who hadn’t been exposed to this factor.
Both groups induced the same outcome.
For example, in the medical field, the study of the effect of pro-inflammatory diets usually includes high amounts of fats and tiny amounts of fruits, on colon cancer.
Here, the factor is a proinflammatory diet for the first group that has been exposed.
The other group didn’t expose to this factor.
After analyzing the data(searching for patients with colon cancer between both groups), they find the group with this kind of diet percentage is relatively higher in developing colon cancer disease.
case-control survey
This kind of study is also retrospective, historical, observational(not- experimental), and analytical.
There are two groups with a certain outcome and the scientists will study the factors that led to this outcome, so the outcome already happened before the time of the study.
The study will be done over two groups only one group induced the outcome, the scientists will see the effect of different factors on the outcome of the first group and how it differs from the other group which didn’t expose to these factors.
For example:
Two groups were chosen randomly, both groups from the same population
The first group(case) are osteoporosis, patient.
The second group(control) is free.
The factor that was searched for is salt-rich food.
After analysis, the first group has a greater percentage of salt consumption than the free(control) group.
how to best do a survey retrospective?
retrospective survey study, not an independent study, as we previously explained it’s an investigational and observational study, to read the pre-collected data over the past time, so it’s part of a chain of studies to reach the aimed goal.
As with any study, we should go through some steps:
1-determine SMART goal
Here, the goal is usually a medical or social goal, to understand the effect, and risk factors of diseases and medications.
2-conceptualize questions and hypothesis
This step is significant, the scientists put the questions that they aim to have their answers to during this survey, and the hypotheses that support the aimed goal.
3-retrospective surveys methodology
As we previously mentioned there are two types of retrospective survey templates case-control and cohort, now we will mention the design of both studies.
What is retrospective survey design?
A-case-control retrospective survey design:
During this method, we choose two groups of the population symmetric in everything except for their outcome, the first group with the targeted outcome is called the case group, and the other group is called the control.
All the data that we will collect and study are previously collected.
After determining both groups we will look backward at their record to study the rate of exposure to various factors in both groups.
According to the rate of exposure to these factors, we will be able to understand if those factors are possible causes of the disease under study.
Advantages of case-control retrospective:
1- due to skipping the step of data collection it’s cheaper and faster.
2-it can be used in studying rare diseases.
Disadvantages of case-control retrospective:
1-it’s more biased
2-only retrospective
3-it can’t establish prevalence, which means the percentage of the population who has a particular disease at a precise time.
B-cohort retrospective survey design:
Here, the scientists choose two groups of populations identical in everything except exposure factors.
Both groups have the same diseases or outcomes, but the first group was exposed to a certain factor, and the other one didn’t.
After analyzing the data, the development of the disease after exposure to the studied factor is what they searching for.
Advantages of cohort retrospective study
1- it can be prospective or retrospective.
2-it can assist in determining the prevalence
3-can be used in rare exposures studying
Disadvantages of cohort retrospective study
1-more expensive and time-consuming, so it can’t be used in long periods of studies.
2-although it’s good for rare exposures but it’s not for rare diseases.
What is an example of a retrospective study?
As we said before, retrospective survey study is usually used in medical and social fields, now will mention some examples.
Cohort retrospective survey examples
1-Drug-induced diseases
polymyxin b antibiotics affect on urinary tract
Polymyxin b antibiotic is used in the treatment of critical infectious diseases such as meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis, but after studying its impact of it in a cohort retrospective study in 2019 the scientists found the following:
1-one year mortality due to renal failure after concomitant use with other nephrotoxic drugs reaches 46.1%
2-female are more exposed to renal injury due to polymyxin usage.
3-the recovery is noticed for only a third of the population with excessive care.
2-dental implant failure and drugs
A retrospective cohort study in 2017 showed the following:
1-population who are using proton pump inhibitors PPIs are more likely to induce dental implant failure.
2-non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs NSAIDs are common causes of dental implant failure.
Case-control survey examples
1-the relationship between breast cancer risk and fat intake:
According to this study, there is a clear combination between fat intake and breast cancer risk, in the same subject by using cohort studies the results weren’t clear.
2-relation between elevated homocysteine levels and cardiac diseases:
Vitamin b group breaks down homocysteine( an amino acid) to another chemical substance, so the elevated levels of homocysteine mean vitamin b deficiency or other hereditary diseases.
In a case-control study to determine the relationship between elevated homocysteine levels and heart diseases, they found:
1-there are a relationship between homocysteine elevation and vascular diseases.
2-homocysteine can be used as a biomarker in vascular diseases.
what are retrospective survey questions?
During the journey of the study, the researcher will have to ask some questions to evaluate the development of the survey process, we will mention some of them:
1-is the subject of the study obviously focused?
2-is the case selecting method reliable?
3-did the exposure accurately measured?
related question
Is a survey retrospective or prospective?
There are differences between the two types the retrospective survey is a historical survey, it’s only analytical for the collected data, and the factors and outcomes have already happened in the past.
Prospective is another observational survey but here the participants will be exposed to the factors after starting the study and the outcome will be recorded over time.
What is the difference between a review and a retrospective?
In the field of research, there are differences between the retrospective and review, the retrospective is the whole process of a survey but the review is the step of recording and following up.
Summary
Identifying the different diseases in the medical and social fields needs many studies, one of them being a retrospective survey study.
retrospective survey is an observational study that depends on collected data, so it’s historical and analytical.
There are two main types of retrospective survey cohort and case-control, both are the same at the time of data recording.
The case-control study uses two groups of participants with different outcomes, and the cohort uses two groups of participants with different rates of exposure.
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