Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41933108›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of epidemiology2026

CohortCharacteristics: an R package for population characterisation in observational studies using the OMOP common data model.

Mike Du, Albert Prats-Uribe, Núria Mercadé-Besora, Kim Lopez-Guell, Yuchen Guo, Marta Alcalde-Herraiz, Xihang Chen, Antonella Delmestri, Wai Yi Man, Talita Duarte-Salles and 16 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of epidemiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

26 authors.

Mike DuPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Albert Prats-UribePharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Núria Mercadé-BesoraPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Kim Lopez-GuellPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Yuchen GuoPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Marta Alcalde-HerraizPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Xihang ChenPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Antonella DelmestriPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Wai Yi ManPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Talita Duarte-SallesDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Anna PalomarFundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain.
Agustina GiuliodoriFundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain.
Emanuel BrađaševićDivision for Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia.
Antea JezidžićDivision for Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia.
Elvira BräunerData Analytics Center, Danish Medicines Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Susanne BruunData Analytics Center, Danish Medicines Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Katia VerhammeDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Mees MosseveldDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
James T BrashIQVIA, Real World Solutions, London, UK.
Dina VojinovicIQVIA, Real World Solutions, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Isabella KaczmarczykIQVIA, Real World Solutions, London, UK.
Akram MendezIQVIA, Real World Solutions, London, UK.
Peter RijnbeekDepartment of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Daniel Prieto-AlhambraPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Edward BurnPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK.
Martí CatalàPharmaco- and Device Epidemiology Group, Health Data Sciences, Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7LD, UK. m.catalasabate@darwin-eu.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3308-9905

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Describing cohort characterisation ensures comparability and reproducibility in multi-database observational studies. To address this need, we developed CohortCharacteristics, an open-source R package that facilitates standardised cohort characterisation in datasets mapped to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM). This study aims to explain the development of the package and demonstrate its core functionality. We developed CohortCharacteristics, an open-source R package that can perform cohort characterisation for various types of databases. To demonstrate its functionality, we then used CohortCharacteristics to generate descriptive statistics on demographics, comorbidities, medication exposures, cohort overlap, and timing of cohort entries. The study included data from CPRD GOLD (UK), DK-DHR (Denmark), IPCI (Netherlands), IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database Belgium (IQVIA LPD Belgium), IQVIA DA Germany, NAJS (Croatia), and SIDIAP (Spain), all mapped to the OMOP CDM. The CohortCharacteristics R package is freely available on CRAN with detailed vignettes and documentation on its functionality. Cohort characteristics were generally consistent across databases, with similar age distributions and female representation. CPRD GOLD, NAJS, and SIDIAP exhibited higher prescribing rates for respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous system medications, while IQVIA databases and DK-DHR reported lower rates. Timing analysis showed that dementia diagnoses typically followed insomnia diagnoses in several databases, supporting existing literature. Antipsychotic prescriptions often occurred after dementia diagnosis, reflecting prescribing practices aligned with clinical guidelines. CohortCharacteristics enables consistent cohort characterisation across a network of data mapped to the OMOP CDM, thereby improving transparency in multi-database research. The package's functionality, demonstrated in this study, illustrates its applicability in observational studies with OMOP CDM data.

Indexed as

Databases, FactualObservational Studies as TopicCohort StudiesFemaleHumansReproducibility of ResultsCharacterisationCommon data modelEpidemiologyObservational studiesOMOP CDMR

Identifiers

PMID41933108
PMCPMC13331811

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.