introduction to epidemiology

Question 1

epidemiology

Answer 1

branch of medicine which deals with the incidence, distribution and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health

Question 2

What do epidemiologists do?

Answer 2

1) identify the cause of the disease
2) identify the risk factors
3) determine the extent of disease found in the community
4) evaluate preventative + therapeutic measures
5) develop public health policy

Question 3

List some modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Answer 3

1) smoking
2) being overweight/obese
3) diabetes
4) hypertension
5) physical inactivity
6) hypercholesterolaemia

Question 4

List some non-modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Answer 4

1) age
2) ethnicity
3) family history of cardiovascular disease

Question 5

prevalence

Answer 5

total number of events in a defined population at a designated time

Question 6

incidence

Answer 6

number of new events in a defined population within a specified period

Question 7

morbidity rate

Answer 7

incidence of disease in a given population in a specified time period

Question 8

mortality rate

Answer 8

incidence of deaths in a given population in a specified time period

Question 9

absolute risk

Answer 9

incidence of an event in a defined population

Question 10

relative risk

Answer 10

the proportionate increase/decrease of incidence of an event in two groups of people

Question 11

attributable risk

Answer 11

the excess risk accounted for by the factor being investigated

Question 12

observational studies

Answer 12

measures the association between potential factors of influence + outcomes

Question 13

experimental studies

Answer 13

involve introducing an intervention

Question 14

What are the 3 types of observational study?

Answer 14

1) cross sectional
2) cohort
3) case controlled

Question 15

cross sectional studies

Answer 15

take a snapshot of the health + behaviours of a cross section of the population at a single point in time

Question 16

cohort studies

Answer 16

follows a cohort of people through time

Question 17

case controlled studies

Answer 17

compares two groups of people

Question 18

What are the advantages of cross sectional studies?

Answer 18

1) relatively quick
2) easy to conduct
3) allow for the collection of data of multiple variables

Question 19

What are the disadvantages of cross sectional studies?

Answer 19

1) can’t conclusively establish cause + effect

2) not very useful for short lived diseases

Question 20

experimental studies

Answer 20

researcher allocates patients randomly to different treatments + randomised control trials are used to study a new preventative regimen + compare it with standard treatment