Epi 712: General definitions Flashcards
(143 cards)
Bias
Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.
case fatality risk (CFR)
Proportion of deaths within a designated population of “cases” over the course of the disease.
of deaths from specific disease/ # with disease
aka. or case fatality rate, case fatality ratio or just fatality rate
Cohort
Group of subjects who have shared a particular event together during a particular time span.
disability-adjusted life year (DALY)
Measure of overall disease burden, expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death. Include equivalent years of ‘healthy’ life lost by virtue of being in states of poor health or disability. In so doing, mortality and morbidity are combined into a single, common metric.
Years LOST to premature death or disability) = YLLs (death) + YLDs (disabilty)
Estimate of morbidity that accounts for the burden of disease due to specific cause in a population
Efficacy
Ability to produce a desired or intended result. Intervention or drug in medicine.
Endemic
Regularly found among particular people or in a certain area.
(from Greek ἐν en “in, within” and δῆμος demos “people”
Epidemic
Higher than normal (baseline) rates of disease in a community at a particular time.
Incidence
- New Cases
- Measures change in disease occurance during a given period of time.
- Often for infectious/acure disease studies
- Used for investigating causes of disease (etiolog)
- I = # of NEW cases of disease occurring in one time period/ Total # AT RISK in time period
Morbidity
Diseased state, disability, or poor health
Mortality
Death.
Crude Mortality Rate (CMR)
Measure of the number of deaths in a population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time.
deaths from all causes/ # of persons in total pop.
units: x per 1000
Prevalence
- Existing cases; how much disease is in population
- Measure of disease that allows us to determine a person’s likelihood of having a disease.
- Often used in chronic disease studies
- Used for description and planning health care needs
- P= # of EXISTING cases of disease at specified time/ total population at specified time
Proportionate mortality rate (PMR)
of deaths from specific disease/
of all deaths
= % of deaths in a population caused by disease
Validity
Degree to which the results of a study are likely to be true, believable and free of bias. Results are true to target population
Descriptive Epidemiology
Distribution “Person - Place - Time”
WHO participated in study or event
WHERE did study or event occur?
WHEN did study or event occur?
Analytic Epidemiology
Determinants “Agent - Host - Environment”
Look for causes/ Test Hypothesis.
Why did disease outcome occur in certain people or population groups?
Epidemiology
“Study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states in human populations” Framework for IDing public health problems, causes, and solutions.
Histoty: Hippocrates
460-390 BCE 1st to recognize environments role on disease etiology wrote descriptions of clinical diseases
History: Use of Vital Statistics
14th & 15th centuries Italy: track death rates and causes England: issue death certificates
History: Describe Physical Universe
17th Century Rammazzini: publish enviro hazards in occupations Graunt: use population-based mortality data to study disease occurrence
History: Scientific Reasoning
18th century Figured out disease is caused by exposures Lind: studies etiology of scurvy (lemon guy) Pott: IDed chimney soot as cause for scrotal cancer for chimney sweeps Jenner: developed smallpox inoculation
History: Miasma Theory of Disease
Early 19th Century Epidemics caused by “spontaneous generation” & “Miasma Atmospheres” - enviro conditions/poor sanitation
History: William Farr
Late 19th Century Founding Father of modern Epi (Nonmechanistic) Established national registration system in England
History: John Snow
Mid-19th Century Founding Father of Modern Epi (Mechanistic) Determined cholera as waterborne disease