What is a Natural History Study?

A natural history study is a study designed to track the course of a disease over time and includes people who have a specific medical condition or disease and those who are at risk of developing such.  This method of research explores the disease in a comprehensive way and identifies demographic, genetic, environmental, and other variables that correlate with the disease and its outcomes.  Natural history studies have many potential uses such as patient care best practice developments and clinical trial recruitment.