Results schema of the CohortMethod package

Introduction

This document describes the data model of the output of the CohortMethod package, generated by the exportToCsv() function. This vignette assumes you are already familiar with the CohortMethod package, and have read all other vignettes.

Fields with minimum values

Some fields contain patient counts or fractions that can easily be converted to patient counts. To prevent identifiability, these fields are subject to a minimum value. When the value falls below this minimum, it is replaced with the negative value of the minimum. For example, if the minimum subject count is 5, and the actual count is 2, the value stored in the data model will be -5, which could be represented as ‘<5’ to the user. Note that the value 0 is permissible, as it identifies no persons. These fields are identified below as having Min. count = ‘Yes’.

Tables

In this section you will find the list of tables and their fields.

Table cm_analysis

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A unique identifier for an analysis.
description	varchar	No	No	No	A description for an analysis, e.g. ‘On-treatment’.
definition	varchar	No	No	No	A CohortMethod JSON object specifying the analysis.

Table cm_attrition

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
sequence_number	int	Yes	No	No	The place in the sequence of steps defining the final analysis cohort. 1 indicates the original exposed population without any inclusion criteria.
description	varchar	No	No	No	A description of the last restriction, e.g. “Removing persons with the outcome prior”.
subjects	int	No	Yes	No	The number of subjects in the cohort.
exposure_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	The identifier of the exposure cohort to which the attrition applies. Can be either the target or comparator cohort ID.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	The identifier for the outcome cohort.
outcome_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.

Table cm_covariate

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
covariate_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A unique identified for a covariate.
covariate_name	varchar	No	No	No	A name for a covariate, e.g. ‘Age group: 20-25 years’.
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
covariate_analysis_id	int	No	No	No	Foreign key referencing the cm_covariate_analysis table.
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.

Table cm_covariate_analysis

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
covariate_analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A unique identifier for a covariate analysis (only guaranteed to be unique for a given analysis_id and database_id).
covariate_analysis_name	varchar	No	No	No	A name for a covariate analysis, e.g. ‘Demographics: age group’.
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.

Table cm_covariate_balance

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
outcome_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	The identifier for the outcome cohort.
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
covariate_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_covariate table.
target_mean_before	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the target cohort before propensity score adjustment.
comparator_mean_before	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the comparator cohort before propensity score adjustment.
mean_before	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the union of the target and comparator cohort before propensity score adjustment.
std_diff_before	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means between the target and comparator cohort before propensity score adjustment.
std_diff_var_before	float	No	No	No	The variance of the standardized difference of the means between the target and comparator cohort before propensity score adjustment.
balanced_before	int	No	No	No	Is the covariate balanced before propensity score adjustment? (1 = yes, 0 = no)
mean_after	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the union of the target and comparator cohort after propensity score adjustment.
target_mean_after	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the target cohort after propensity score adjustment.
comparator_mean_after	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the comparator cohort after propensity score adjustment.
std_diff_after	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means between the target and comparator cohort after propensity score adjustment.
std_diff_var_after	float	No	No	No	The variance of the standardized difference of the means between the target and comparator cohort after propensity score adjustment.
balanced_after	int	No	No	No	Is the covariate balanced after propensity score adjustment? (1 = yes, 0 = no)
target_std_diff	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means before and after propensity score adjustment in the target cohort.
comparator_std_diff	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means before and after propensity score adjustment in the comparator cohort.
target_comparator_std_diff	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means before and after propensity score adjustment in the union of the target and comparator cohorts.

Table cm_diagnostics_summary

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
outcome_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	The identifier for the outcome cohort.
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.
max_sdm	float	No	No	No	The maximum absolute standardized difference of mean.
sdm_family_wise_min_p	float	No	No	No	The minimum family-wise P-value for the test whether the absolute SDM exceeds the diagnostic threshold.
shared_max_sdm	float	No	No	No	The maximum absolute standardized difference of mean of the shared balance (shared across outcomes).
shared_sdm_family_wise_min_p	float	No	No	No	The minimum family-wise P-value for the test whether the absolute SDM exceeds the diagnostic threshold for the shared balance (across all outcomes).
equipoise	float	No	No	No	The fraction of the study population with a preference score between 0.3 and 0.7.
mdrr	float	No	No	No	The minimum detectable relative risk.
attrition_fraction	float	No	No	Yes	DEPRECATED: The fraction of the target population lost by between initial cohort and outcome model due to various restrictions.
generalizability_max_sdm	float	No	No	No	The maximum absolute standardized difference of mean comparing before to after adjustment.
ease	float	No	No	No	The expected absolute systematic error.
balance_diagnostic	varchar(20)	No	No	No	Pass / warning / fail classification of the balance diagnostic (max_sdm).
shared_balance_diagnostic	varchar(20)	No	No	No	Pass / warning / fail classification of the shared balance diagnostic (shared_max_sdm).
equipoise_diagnostic	varchar(20)	No	No	No	Pass / warning / fail classification of the equipoise diagnostic.
mdrr_diagnostic	varchar(20)	No	No	No	Pass / warning / fail classification of the MDRR diagnostic.
attrition_diagnostic	varchar(20)	No	No	Yes	DEPRECATED: Pass / warning / fail classification of the attrition fraction diagnostic.
generalizability_diagnostic	varchar(20)	No	No	No	Pass / warning / fail classification of the generalizability diagnostic.
ease_diagnostic	varchar(20)	No	No	No	Pass / warning / fail classification of the EASE diagnostic.
unblind	int	No	No	No	Is unblinding the result recommended? (1 = yes, 0 = no)
unblind_for_evidence_synthesis	int	No	No	No	Is unblinding the result for inclusion in evidence synthesis recommended? This ignores the MDRR diagnostic. (1 = yes, 0 = no)

Table cm_follow_up_dist

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
outcome_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	The identifier for the outcome cohort.
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
target_min_days	float	No	No	No	The minimum number of observation days for a person.
target_p_10_days	float	No	No	No	The 10^th percentile of number of observation days for a person in the target group.
target_p_25_days	float	No	No	No	The 25^th percentile of number of observation days for a person in the target group.
target_median_days	float	No	No	No	The median number of observation days for a person in the target group.
target_p_75_days	float	No	No	No	The 75^th percentile of number of observation days for a person in the target group.
target_p_90_days	float	No	No	No	The 90^th percentile of number of observation days for a person in the target group.
target_max_days	float	No	No	No	The maximum number of observation days for a person in the target group.
comparator_min_days	float	No	No	No	The minimum number of observation days for a person in the comparator group.
comparator_p_10_days	float	No	No	No	The 10^th percentile of number of observation days for a person in the comparator group.
comparator_p_25_days	float	No	No	No	The 25^th percentile of number of observation days for a person in the comparator group.
comparator_median_days	float	No	No	No	The median number of observation days for a person in the comparator group.
comparator_p_75_days	float	No	No	No	The 75^th percentile of number of observation days for a person in the comparator group.
comparator_p_90_days	float	No	No	No	The 90^th percentile of number of observation days for a person in the comparator group.
comparator_max_days	float	No	No	No	The maximum number of observation days for a person in the comparator group.
target_min_date	Date	No	No	No	The first start date of the target cohort observed in the data (after applying all restrictions).
target_max_date	Date	No	No	No	The last start date of the target cohort observed in the data (after applying all restrictions).
comparator_min_date	Date	No	No	No	The first start date of the comparator cohort observed in the data (after applying all restrictions).
comparator_max_date	Date	No	No	No	The last start date of the comparator cohort observed in the data (after applying all restrictions).
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.

Table cm_interaction_result

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
outcome_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	The identifier for the outcome cohort.
interaction_covariate_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the cm_covariate table.
rr	float	No	No	No	The estimated relative risk (e.g. the ratio of hazard ratios).
ci_95_lb	float	No	No	No	The lower bound of the 95% confidence interval of the relative risk.
ci_95_ub	float	No	No	No	The upper bound of the 95% confidence interval of the relative risk.
p	float	No	No	No	The two-sided p-value considering the null hypothesis of no interaction effect.
target_subjects	int	No	Yes	No	The number of subject in the target cohort.
comparator_subjects	int	No	Yes	No	The number of subject in the comparator cohort.
target_days	int	No	No	No	The number of days observed in the target cohort.
comparator_days	int	No	No	No	The number of days observed in the comparator cohort.
target_outcomes	int	No	Yes	No	The number of outcomes observed in the target cohort.
comparator_outcomes	int	No	Yes	No	The number of outcomes observed in the comparator cohort.
log_rr	float	No	No	No	The log of the relative risk.
se_log_rr	float	No	No	No	The standard error of the log of the relative risk.
calibrated_rr	float	No	No	No	The calibrated relative risk.
calibrated_ci_95_lb	float	No	No	No	The lower bound of the calibrated 95% confidence interval of the relative risk.
calibrated_ci_95_ub	float	No	No	No	The upper bound of the calibrated 95% confidence interval of the relative risk.
calibrated_p	float	No	No	No	The calibrated two-sided p-value.
calibrated_log_rr	float	No	No	No	The log of the calibrated relative risk.
calibrated_se_log_rr	float	No	No	No	The standard error of the log of the calibrated relative risk.
target_estimator	varchar	No	No	No	The target estimator, for example “att”, “ate”, “atu” or “ato”.
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.

Table cm_kaplan_meier_dist

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
time_day	int	Yes	No	No	Time in days since cohort start.
target_survival	float	No	No	No	The estimated survival fraction in the target cohort.
target_survival_lb	float	No	No	No	The lower bound of the 95% confidence interval of the survival fraction in the target cohort.
target_survival_ub	float	No	No	No	The upper bound of the 95% confidence interval of the survival fraction in the target cohort.
comparator_survival	float	No	No	No	The estimated survival fraction in the comparator cohort.
comparator_survival_lb	float	No	No	No	The lower bound of the 95% confidence interval of the survival fraction in the comparator cohort.
comparator_survival_ub	float	No	No	No	The upper bound of the 95% confidence interval of the survival fraction in the comparator cohort.
target_at_risk	int	No	Yes	No	The number of subjects still at risk in the target cohort.
comparator_at_risk	int	No	Yes	No	The number of subjects still at risk in the comparator cohort.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
outcome_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	The identifier for the outcome cohort.
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.

Table cm_likelihood_profile

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
log_rr	float	Yes	No	No	The log of the relative risk where the likelihood is sampled.
log_likelihood	float	No	No	No	The normalized log likelihood.
gradient	float	No	No	No	The gradient of the log likelihood.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
outcome_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	The identifier for the outcome cohort.
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.

Table cm_preference_score_dist

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.
preference_score	float	Yes	No	No	A preference score value.
target_density	float	No	No	No	The distribution density for the target cohort at the given preference score.
comparator_density	float	No	No	No	The distribution density for the comparator cohort at the given preference score.

Table cm_propensity_model

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.
covariate_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the cm_covariate table. 0 is reserved for the intercept.
coefficient	float	No	No	No	The coefficient (beta) for the covariate in the propensity model.

Table cm_result

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
outcome_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	The identifier for the outcome cohort.
rr	float	No	No	No	The estimated relative risk (e.g. the hazard ratio).
ci_95_lb	float	No	No	No	The lower bound of the 95% confidence interval of the relative risk.
ci_95_ub	float	No	No	No	The upper bound of the 95% confidence interval of the relative risk.
p	float	No	No	No	The two-sided p-value considering the null hypothesis of no effect.
one_sided_p	float	No	No	No	The one-sided p-value considering the null hypothesis of RR <= 1.
target_subjects	int	No	Yes	No	The number of subject in the target cohort.
comparator_subjects	int	No	Yes	No	The number of subject in the comparator cohort.
target_days	int	No	No	No	The number of days observed in the target cohort.
comparator_days	int	No	No	No	The number of days observed in the comparator cohort.
target_outcomes	int	No	Yes	No	The number of outcomes observed in the target cohort.
comparator_outcomes	int	No	Yes	No	The number of outcomes observed in the comparator cohort.
log_rr	float	No	No	No	The log of the relative risk.
se_log_rr	float	No	No	No	The standard error of the log of the relative risk.
llr	float	No	No	No	The log of the likelihood ratio (of the MLE vs the null hypothesis of no effect).
calibrated_rr	float	No	No	No	The calibrated relative risk.
calibrated_ci_95_lb	float	No	No	No	The lower bound of the calibrated 95% confidence interval of the relative risk.
calibrated_ci_95_ub	float	No	No	No	The upper bound of the calibrated 95% confidence interval of the relative risk.
calibrated_p	float	No	No	No	The calibrated two-sided p-value.
calibrated_one_sided_p	float	No	No	No	The calibrated one-sided p-value considering the null hypothesis of RR <= 1.
calibrated_log_rr	float	No	No	No	The log of the calibrated relative risk.
calibrated_se_log_rr	float	No	No	No	The standard error of the log of the calibrated relative risk.
target_estimator	varchar	No	No	No	The target estimator, for example “att”, “ate”, “atu” or “ato”.
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.

Table cm_shared_covariate_balance

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
database_id	varchar	Yes	No	No	Foreign key referencing the database.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.
analysis_id	int	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_analysis table.
covariate_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the cm_covariate table.
mean_before	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the union of the target and comparator cohort before propensity score adjustment.
target_mean_before	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the target cohort before propensity score adjustment.
comparator_mean_before	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the comparator cohort before propensity score adjustment.
std_diff_before	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means between the target and comparator cohort before propensity score adjustment.
std_diff_var_before	float	No	No	No	The variance of the standardized difference of the means between the target and comparator cohort before propensity score adjustment.
balanced_before	int	No	No	No	Is the covariate balanced before propensity score adjustment? (1 = yes, 0 = no)
mean_after	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the union of the target and comparator cohort after propensity score adjustment.
target_mean_after	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the target cohort after propensity score adjustment.
comparator_mean_after	float	No	Yes	No	The mean value of the covariate in the comparator cohort after propensity score adjustment.
std_diff_after	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means between the target and comparator cohort after propensity score adjustment.
std_diff_var_after	float	No	No	No	The variance of the standardized difference of the means between the target and comparator cohort after propensity score adjustment.
balanced_after	int	No	No	No	Is the covariate balanced after propensity score adjustment? (1 = yes, 0 = no)
target_std_diff	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means before and after propensity score adjustment in the target cohort.
comparator_std_diff	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means before and after propensity score adjustment in the comparator cohort.
target_comparator_std_diff	float	No	No	No	The standardized difference of the means before and after propensity score adjustment in the union of the target and comparator cohorts.

Table cm_target_comparator

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	Primary key for identifying a target-comparator-(nesting cohort) combination
target_id	bigint	No	No	No	The identifier for the target cohort.
comparator_id	bigint	No	No	No	The identifier for the comparator cohort.
nesting_cohort_id	bigint	No	No	No	The identifier for the nesting cohort. Null if not nested.

Table cm_target_comparator_outcome

Field	Type	Key	Min. count	Deprecated	Description
outcome_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	The identifier for the outcome cohort.
outcome_of_interest	int	No	No	No	Is the outcome of interest (1 = yes, 0 = no)
true_effect_size	float	No	No	No	The true effect size for the target-comparator-outcome. For negatitive controls this equals 1.
target_comparator_id	bigint	Yes	No	No	A foreign key referencing the target_comparator table.

Martijn J. Schuemie

2026-02-23