Scientific Foundations: Epidemiology Flashcards

1
Q

Incidence rate

A

An epidemiologic term that describes the occurrence of new disease or injury per unit of time among persons at risk

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2
Q

Incidence rate numerator

A

Includes only new cases of disease during a given time period

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3
Q

Incidence rate denominator

A

Includes everyone at risk of developing the disease during that period

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4
Q

Incidence measures…

A

The probability (or risk) of developing disease

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5
Q

Use of incidence rates

A

Tracking trends in the development or resolution of disease

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6
Q

Prevalence

A

An epidemiologic term that describes the proportion of the population with the condition at a given point in time or during a given time period

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7
Q

Prevalence numerator

A

Includes new and existing cases

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8
Q

Prevalence denominator

A

Includes all who are at risk for developing the disease, including those who have it

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9
Q

Prevalence measures…

A

The current burden of disease

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10
Q

Prevalence uses

A

Measuring and projecting health care and health resource needs

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11
Q

Applications of epidemiologic research

A
  1. Controlling infectious diseases
  2. Controlling the effects of chemical hazards
  3. Understanding genetic susceptibility to disease
  4. Understanding the effects of nutritional status
  5. Linking pathogens to specific disease processes
  6. Identifying risk factors for illness and injury
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12
Q

Evaluation of —– among exposures and health outcomes is central to epidemiology

A

Associations

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13
Q

Criteria to evaluate causality based on an observed association include the following…

A
  1. The strength of the association
  2. Consistency of the association
  3. Temporality of the association
  4. Dose-response relationship
  5. Plausibility of association
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14
Q

Strength of the association

A

Refers to the degree of correlation between the exposure and the disease

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15
Q

Consistency of the association

A
  1. Similar findings result across several studies of the same association
  2. Conclusions similar despite use of different study designs, under different conditions and in different populations
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16
Q

Temporality of association

A

-demonstrates that the cause precedes the effects

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17
Q

Temporality cannot be evaluated with a —— study

A

Cross sectional

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18
Q

Dose response relationship

A

As the degree of exposure increases, the risk for developing outcome increases

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19
Q

Lack of a dose response relationship does not rule out a —–

A

Causal relationship

20
Q

Plausibility of the association

A
  • Association is consistent with a plausible biologic explanation
  • Sometimes there is not enough scientific evidence to draw a conclusion about biologic plausibility
21
Q

Knowledge required to determine biologic plausibility

A
  1. Natural history of the disease
  2. Results of animal experiments
  3. Results of other laboratory experiments
22
Q

Population based health outcome data includes:

A
  1. Census data
  2. Vital statistics
  3. National health surveys
  4. Disease and death registries
23
Q

Census data is obtained from

A

US Census Bureau

24
Q

Vital statistics are obtained from

A

US Census Bureau

25
Q

National health surveys are obtained from

A

National Center for Health Statistics

26
Q

Examples of population based national health surveys

A
  1. National Health and Nutrition Examination surveys

2. National Health Interview Survey

27
Q

OSHA recordable illnesses and injuries are captured through mandatory reporting systems maintained by…

A

Bureau of Labor Statistics

28
Q

Examples of exposure data

A
  1. Air monitoring data

2. Biomarkers of exposure

29
Q

Exposure data can be obtained from….

A

Exposure registries

30
Q

Examples of exposure registries

A
  1. Heavy metal exposure
  2. Certain pharmaceuticals
  3. Needle stick injuries
31
Q

Exposure status is sometimes estimated indirectly from the following information:

A
  1. Occupational history
  2. Dietary history
  3. Location of residence
32
Q

Key terms in comparisons of rates

A
  1. Relative risk
  2. Odds ratio
  3. Attributable risk
33
Q

Relative risk

A

Aka rate ratio

A measure of the relationship between two incidence rates, that of the exposed and that of the unexposed population

34
Q

Odds ratio

A

A good estimate of relative risk, but is derived from case control or cross-sectional studies

35
Q

Attributable risk

A

A measure of the difference between two rates, one for the exposed and one for the unexposed populations. It describes the increased amount of risk attributed to the exposure

36
Q

Crude rates

A

Based on the actual numbers of events for a given time period but do not reflect true differences in risk amount subgroups in a population

37
Q

Characteristic-specific rates

A

Allow one to compare rates for similar subgroups of two or more populations

38
Q

Examples of characteristic-specific rates

A

Age-specific

Gender-specific

39
Q

Adjusted (or standardized) rates

A

Reflect population differences by taking into consideration the distribution of important characteristics that may affect risk

40
Q

Example of adjusted rate

A

Age-adjusted rate

41
Q

The crude rates of lung cancer in a population will not reflect….

A

The fact that older individuals are at higher risk for lung cancer

42
Q

To look at the association between smoking and lung cancer, it would be appropriate to compare…..

A

Crude rates of lung cancer in groups of s,pokers and nonsmokers who differ in she distribution

43
Q

Rates of lung cancer could be computed for age-specific groups to…..

A

Examine differences in lung cancer rates by age

44
Q

The age-adjusted rates of lung cancer in the swing and nonsmoking groups could be compared to…..

A

Examine the question of an association between smoking and cancer

45
Q

Epidemiology

A

The study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to the control of health problems