Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

HSCI 204 > Week 2-3 > Flashcards

Week 2-3 Flashcards

1
Q

Environmental Health

A

Aspects of human health (quality of life) that are determined by physical, chemical, biological, social, and psychosocial factors in the environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Disability-adjusted life years (DALY)

A

Estimation of total numbers of years lost due to specific causes and risk factors at the country, regional and global levels

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Years of life lost (YLL)

A

years lost due to premature mortality

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Years lived with disability (YDL)

A

years lived in less-than-ideal health

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Global Burden of Disease (GBD)

A

quantifies health loss from hundreds of diseases, injuries, and risk factors, so that health systems can be improved and disparities can be eliminated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Limitations of GBD

A
  1. Exposure-outcome pairs not included
  2. Uncertainties in exposure assessments and concentration-response relationships
  3. Categorizing or dichotomizing a health continuum
  4. Disability weights
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Population attributable fraction

A

Amount of disease/death avoided in the population if exposure was removed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Exposure-response relationship

A

How does health risk change as exposure changes?

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Prevention Paradox

A

a large number of people at a small risk may give rise to more cases of disease than the small number who are at a high risk

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

ROSE idea 1

A

Subtle shifts in risks can have a substantial impact on health.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

ROSE idea 2

A

A large number of people at a small risk give rise to more cases of disease than the small number who are at a high risk (PREVENTION PARADOX)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

ROSE ideal 3

A

There is no known biological reason why every population should not be as healthy as the best

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Precautionary principle

A

precautionary measures should be taken even if a cause-and-effect relationship is not fully established scientifically

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Acute

A

Short-term “bursts” of exposure (hours to days)
higher concentration and (maybe) immediate symptoms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Chronic

A

Longer-term periods of exposure (years to lifetime)
Lower concentration, longer latency period

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Exposure route

A

the way a substance enters the body

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Three routes of exposure?

A

Dermal, inhalation and ingestion ((also mother-fetus transmission)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Human barriers to environment

A

GI tract, Respiratory tract, skin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Exposure pathway

A

The physical course a pollutant takes from the source to the subject: Emission > movement of emission > exposure > dose > effect

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Three Key Ideas in Exposure Assessment

A
  1. Concentrations vary in time
  2. Concentrations vary from place to place
  3. People move around
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Direct exposure assessment

A

Personal measurements,
biomarkers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Tradeoffs of direct methods

A

-Better estimate of true exposure
-$$$ and time consuming
-High demand on participants
-not feasible on large scale

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

tradeoffs of indirect methods

A

-poorer estimate of true exposure
-less $$$ and less time consuming
-little to no participant demand
-applicable to large pop

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

indirect exposure assessment

A

Area measurements
Questionnaires
Models

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Biomarkers
Measure pollutant of metabolite in biological material (exhaled breath, urine, blood, teeth, hair) -est dose and includes multiple routes of exposure -can be intrusive and interpretation can be difficult
26
Epidemiology
study of the distribution and determinants of disease in humans
27
Randomized control trials
Randomly allocate participants to an intervention or control group
28
Cross-sectional
Assess exposure and outcome at a single point in time
29
Cohort Study
Identify participants who do not have the disease of interest, and observe them over time to assess new cases of the disease
30
Case-control
Identify participants based on disease (outcome), then determine who previously had the exposure
31
Effect estimates
Measures of association (relative risk & odds ratio)
32
Toxin
A compound of natural origin that exerts notable adverse effects on biological systems
33
Toxicant
A synthetic compound that exerts notable adverse effects on biological systems
34
ADME
four basic steps that a toxicant goes through when it enters the body: absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion
35
What does it mean when we say that a toxicant has "a threshold"?
This means there is a range of exposures/doses at which the health effect(s) do not occur
36
Why is the presence or absence of a threshold so important?
thresholds imply that health risks can be eliminated without entirely eliminating the pollutant/chemical/product
37
What is a supralinear relationship?
a change in exposure/dose at the low end of the exposure/dose distribution causes a larger change in the health outcome than an equivalent change in exposure at the high end of the distribution
38
Lethal Dose 50
The amount (dose) of a chemical which produces death in 50% of a population of test animals to which it is administered
39
No observed adverse effect level (NOAEL)
The highest dose at which the adverse effect is not observed
40
Lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL)
The lowest dose at which the adverse effect is observed
41
(PoD) point of departure
The dose at which “bad things start to happen
42
Reference dose
acceptable levels of exposure to chemicals/pollutants, before bad things start to happen (cliff example)
43
Hazard
something capable of causing an adverse effect
44
Risk
probability that the hazard will cause an adverse effect under specific exposure conditions
45
Risk assessment 
the process by which hazard, exposure, and risk are determined
46
What are the steps of risk assessment?
1.Problem formulation 2.Hazard identification 3.Dose-response assessment 4.Exposure assessment 5.Risk characterization
47
Risk management 
the process of weighing policy alternatives and selecting the most appropriate regulatory action based on the results of risk assessment and social, economic, and political concerns
48
What does it mean for an agent (chemical, product, activity, etc.) to be designated as IARC group 1?
A substance is defined as a 'known human carcinogen'
49
Perceived risk
An intuitive judgment about the nature and magnitude of a health risk
50
List some of the key pollutants or pollutant categories
Particulate matter Ozone (O3) Sulfur dioxide (SO2) Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO and NO2) Carbon monoxide (CO)
51
List the major health effects through which ambient air pollution and household air pollution contribute to the global burden of disease
52% cardiovascular and circulatory diseases, 12% respiratory and other infections; ambient air pollution contributes to a huge burden on cardiovascular health
52
Carbon Monoxide
Colorless, odorless, tasteless gas produced by combustion (gas stoves, space heaters)
53
Radon
Colorless, odorless, radioactive gas (uranium in soil breaks down to form radon)
54
Describe some of the reasons that pesticides are used.
Designed to kill living things Pesticides are hazardous substances intentionally added to our environment. ** they kill off hosts that are responsible vetors of spreading disease
55
Organochlorine Insecticides
-Low volatility, chemically stable, slow degradation -more stable and degrade more slowly in the environment -persistent in environment
56
DDT
-A Organochlorine Insecticide -Persistent in enviroment n humans (2.5 yrs of half-life in soil) -Acute effects:Irritability, dizziness -Chronic effects:Endocrine disruptor, reproductive effects,carinogenic
57
Rachel Carson
published the ‘Silent Spring’ on the environmental effects of DDT and as a result was banned > cause millions of Africans to die from malaria as DDT was one of the most effective insecticide against malarial mosquitoes
58
Organophosphorus (OP) Insecticides
-Responsible for the majority of pesticide poisonings and deaths -less persistent in the environment but also more acutely toxic in humans
59
Sarin
A particularly toxic organophosphorus compound that is much more potent
60
Carbamate Insecticides
-Less acutely toxic than OPs and less poisonings
61
Pyrethroid Insecticides
Synthetic versions of naturally occurring chemicals pyrethrins -Less acutely toxic than OP pesticides
62
Identify the primary route of pesticide exposure for non-occupationally exposed populations (i.e., the general public).
Residue on food - conventional food may contain more synthetic pesticide residues
63
What are the 3 pesticide exposures?
-dietary ingestion -dermal -inhalation
64
Spray/pesticide drift
A potentially important source of exposure for communities close to agricultural activity

HSCI 204 (3 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions