Lecture 2

Question 1

is the study of the distribution of disease and determinants of disease frequency in populations
(is the study of causes of disease)

Answer 1

epidemology

Question 2

to control health problems and improve health at the population level

Answer 2

goal of epidemiology

Question 3

“counting” the causes and determining variables of morbidity and mortality

Answer 3

operationally

Question 4

ID factors that are “causes” and are potentially modifiable;

guiding and evaluating interventions to improve public health

Answer 4

operationally

Question 5

clinical and research concerns:
_1_good or bad; chemical, biological, physical, psychological, educational

2=good or bad; disease, cure, improved attitude, longer life, better quality of life

Answer 5

1 = exposure

2=outcome

Question 6

we generally know either the exposure or the outcome and we want to __ the other

Answer 6

measure

Question 7

past achievements of epidemiology and oral health

Answer 7

water fluoridation and dental caries

fluoridated toothpaste and decrease in dental caries

smoking as a risk factor for oral cancer

Question 8

developmental enamel defects

Answer 8

fluorosis, enamel hypoplasia,

Question 9

the usual occurrence of a disease in a given population

Answer 9

endemic

Question 10

a meaningful increase in the occurrence of a disease in a give population

Answer 10

epidemic

Question 11

spread of a disease across a large region or worldwide

Answer 11

pandemic

Question 12

exposure of interest

Answer 12

independent variable

Question 13

outcome of interest

Answer 13

dependent variable

Question 14

1. suspicion of an E to D relationship
2. hypothesis formation
3. test E to D hypothesis
4. rule out alternative explanations

Answer 14

epidemiological reasoning

Question 15

epidemiology is fundamentally concerned with

Answer 15

populations - measuring distribution of disease in populations and the factors associated with those distributions

Question 16

__ is an identifiable relation between an exposure and a disease

Answer 16

association

Question 17

3 questions in casual inference;
1=how do we look for a cause?

2=what is the cause?

3=how do we decide if there is enough evidence to act on a cause?

Answer 17

1 = methodological question

2= ontological question

3= ethical question

Question 18

an event, condition, or characteristic that preceded the disease and without which the disease would not have occurred at all or would have not occurred until some later time

Answer 18

cause

Question 19

\+strength of the association 
\+does-response relationship
\+temporal sequence
\+biologic credibility
\+consistency of fingings across studies

Answer 19

criteria for assessing causality

Question 20

criteria for assessing causality: is there a strong E - D relationship

Answer 20

strength of the association

Question 21

criteria for assessing causality: does risk increase with increased exposure

Answer 21

dose-response relationship

Question 22

criteria for assessing causality; does the exposure precede the disease

Answer 22

temporal sequence

Question 23

criteria for assessing causality; is there a known biological basis for the relationship

Answer 23

biologic credibility

Question 24

criteria for assessing causality; do multiple studies report similar findings regarding the E-D relationship

Answer 24

consistency of findings

Question 25

a factor if present increases the probability of disease occurrence

Answer 25

risk factor

Question 26

measuring disease occurrence is fundamental in epidemiology

Answer 26

quantification of epidemiology

Question 27

uses name

Answer 27

nominal scale

Question 28

follows an order based on severity

Answer 28

ordinal scale

Question 29

follows a mathematical order but has no true zero

Answer 29

interval scale

Question 30

follows a mathematical order and has a defined true zero

Answer 30

ratio scale

Question 31

depending on the time element we can also quantify cases as prevalent or incident by either measuring

Answer 31

prevalence proportion or incidence rate

Question 32

#of cases / # of person in population : (at a specified time)

Answer 32

prevalence

Question 33

of new cases of disease / population at risk :(over a period of time)

Answer 33

incidence rate

Question 34

prevalence is not a

Answer 34

rate, the term "prevalence rate" should not exist

Question 35

incidence is a rate and not meaningful without a

Answer 35

unit of time

Question 36

__ are concerned with the number of new cases among persons at risk for a specific follow-up period

Answer 36

incidence rate

Question 37

issues measuring ___; how do we know someone is a case? how do we count population at risk? what is a specific time period

Answer 37

incidence and prevalence

Question 38

always be as __ when articulating units of measurment

Answer 38

specific as possible