January 2012

EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE: CROSS SECTIONAL STUDIES

Cross sectional studies look at the relationship between a disease or another health
characteristic and other variables such as age, gender or health behaviours. These studies
determine the prevalence in a defined population at a particular time point. Cross sectional
studies are not analytic studies, that is, they do not attempt to assess cause and effect.
What are cross sectional studies?
Cross sectional studies are most commonly used in health to provide
a snapshot of how common a disease or condition is at a single point
in time and to look for patterns in a sample. The Australian Census
of Population and Housing is an example of a cross sectional study.
Cross sectional studies may be repeated at different time points, but
unlike cohort studies, they will not seek to link information from the
same participants at different points.
Cross sectional studies can be helpful in determining how many
people are affected by a condition and whether the frequency of the
occurrence varies across groups or population characteristics. They
can also be used to determine if the disease or condition is more likely to be associated with other
characteristics or behaviours.

Advantages and disadvantages of cross sectional studies

Cross sectional studies can be very cost effective as they are completed in a short period. They
commonly use surveys to collect data and they do not require participants to be assigned to groups. You
can also look at a number of variables in the one study. When these studies are based on a sample of
the entire population, they enable results to be generalised to the whole group.
The major limitation to a cross sectional study is that you can only see that two variables are associated.
This study design cannot tell you if one variable is causing a change in another variable. Also, if you are
studying a disease or condition that is not common, you may not find many examples in the sample. This
means you may not learn about other variables associated with the particular condition.

Finding out more

Mann CJ. Observational research Methods Research Design II: cohort, cross sectional and casecontrol studies. Emerg Med J. 2003 Jan;20(1):54-60.
Levin KA. Study design III: Cross-sectional studies. Evid Based Dent. 2006;7(1):24-5.

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