Week 11 Flashcards
What is epidemiology?
the study of health and disease in populations
distribution and determinants of disease frequency in human populations
What did Hippocrates contribute to epidemiology?
first known description of tetanus, typhus, tuberculosis, etc.
suggested human disease related to external and personal environments
qualitative data
What did Galileo Galilei contribute to epidemiology?
combined observation and measurement of phenomena with experimental design to test theories/laws
quantitative data
What did John Graunt contribute to epidemiology?
analyzed weekly reports of births and deaths
first to quantify patterns of disease
- noted high infant mortality, season variations in mortality, etc.
lead to advances in mathematical tools dealing with chance and probabilities
What did Pierre-Charles Alexandre Louis contribute to epidemiology?
pioneered fundamental principle between effect of treatment/substance
first case control studies, used numerical methods to produce statistical evidence
found practice of bloodletting was ineffective and dangerous
What did William Farr contribute to epidemiology?
system of routine compilation of numbers and causes of death
compared mortality rates with several different characteristics
- frequency and distribution
- normal curve (bell)
What did John Snow contribute to epidemiology?
often referred to as father of epidemiology
formulated and tested hypothesis concerning origin of cholera epidemic
tracked the cholera outbreak, postulated it was transmitted by contaminated water, made observations that supported hypothesis
produced enough knowledge to enable disease-prevention measures even before it was known to be cholera
What is cholera?
acute bacterial infection in small intestine
severe diarrhea, vomiting, muscular cramps, and dehydration -> electrolyte depletion
spread by water and food contaminated by feces of persons previously infected
What did Rudolf Virchow contribute to epidemiology?
father of modern pathology
medicine is a social science and politics is medicine on a large scale
What did Joseph Goldberger contribute to epidemiology?
epidemiology to identify infectious and non-infectious agents
ex. Pellagra (neurological disease) -> vitamin deficiency
What had happened to epidemiology by the end of WW2?
in most economically advanced countries, burden of non-communicable diseases > communicable diseases
- CVD and cancer of unknown origin
- micro-organisms largely controlled through hygiene measures, vaccinations, and antibiotics
broadened scope of epidemiology
- ex. heart attack at a molecular level and societal level
What are the 3 main types of research are included by epidemiological study today?
observational studies
experimental studies
intervention studies
What are observational studies?
what happens in a group of people record health-related events ask questions take measurements of the body/on blood don't actively intervene
What are experimental studies?
dominant in biomedical studies
in-vitro (test tube) or in-vivo (organism)
What are intervention strategies?
smaller component of epidemiology (10-20% of research)
ex. vaccine trials in a population
larger component of medical/biological studies
What is descriptive epidemiology?
describes health and disease and their trends over time in specific populations