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Epidemiology
Exam 1
64
Health Care
Undergraduate 4
10/02/2011

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Term
define epidemiology
Definition
the study of distribution, determinants and deterrents of morbidity or mortality in human populations
Term
define risk factor
Definition
a behavior, environmental exposure, or inherent human characteristic that is associated with an increase probability of an important health-related condition
Term
what are 5 objectives of epidemiology?
Definition
1. identify cause of disease and risk factors
2. determine extent disease is found in community
3. natural history
4. evaluate existing and new preventitive/therapeutic measures
5. provide foundation for developing public policy
Term
explain the disease iceberg concept
Definition
we can only see 4/5 the iceberg.
if we relied only on clinicians, they would overestimate severity of disease.
if we only measure number of patients with flu, we would underestimate since many rely on home treatment.
Term
define distribution in the definition of epidemiology?
Definition
referes primarily to how morbidity or mortality is distributed in popoulation. Person, place, and time
Term
what are examples of person variables?
Definition
age , sex, occupation, race, environmental exposures, health stauts, education..
Term
what are 3 types of temporal patterns of disease?
Definition
1. short-term fluctuation (spike of parasitic infection through water supply)
2. cyclic patterns (increase in traffic accidents during labor day)
3. secular trends (long-term changes in morbidity/mortality patterns).
Term
what is a major focus of descriptive epidemiology?
Definition
distribution of morbidity or mortality by person, place or time variables
Term
what is a major focus of analytic epidemiology? and how is it usually accomplished?
Definition
determinants, or to identify the causes of morbidity or mortality occur. Usually accomplished by testing hypotheses using variety of epi research designs.
Term
what is a major focus of clinical epidemiology?
Definition
deterrents. prevent, reduce, or control mortality. interventions.
Term
Hippocrates
Definition
1st true epidemiologist.
first to base his conclusions on observations.
used rational versus supernatural
Term
Girolamo Fracastoro
Definition
believed to be the first to articulate formally a theory of disease transmission by contagion
Term
John Graunt
Definition
Used "Bills of Mortality" quantified disease patterns in London and associated births and deaths with age, sex and other factors.
Term
Thomas Sydenham
Definition
Insisted observation should guide the study of the natural history of disease rather than merely theoretical explanations
Term
John Snow
Definition
formed and tested hypothesis on the origins of cholera in London. One of the first analytic epidemiologic studies
Term
what are the top 5 leading causes of death in 2010? and what was the number one in 1900?
Definition
1. pneumonia and influenza (1900s)

(2010) 1. CVD
2. Cancer, 3. Stroke, 4. Lower Respiratory Disease, 5. unintentional injuries
Term
Ch. 3:
Communicable diseases
Definition
(infectious diseases) can spread through contact, inhalation, ingestion
Term
noncommunicable diseases
Definition
noninfectious diseases i.e. diabetes, skin cancer, stroke
Term
explain the ecological model in terms of host, agent, and environment:
when does disease result?
Definition
disease results when agent, environment, and host are no longer in balance.
host factors: immune status, general health, age, sexsx, genetics
agent: biological, chemical, and physical
environment: weather, living conditions, sanitation, population density
Term
health field concept was developed by who?
Definition
Marc Lalonde; early holistic model of health to serve as a basis for public health planning and policy making
Term
Natural History of Disease: what are the 4 stages
Definition
susceptibility, presymptomatic disease, clinical disease, diminished capacity
Term
give an example of the stage of susceptibility
Definition
hypertension, diabetes -> increase risk of CVD
lack of sleep, stress, poor eating -> common cold
Term
stage of presymptomatic disease
Definition
disease process has begun, no overt signs.
For communicable -> incubation period (time b/t invasion of disease and first symptoms)
For noncommunicable -> latency period (or induction period) i.e. cancer passes through three steps during this period (initiated, promoted, and progressed)
-subclinical disease: disease fully developed but no symptoms in the host (Typhoid Mary)
Term
stage of clinical disease
Definition
disease is apparent and host experiences 1+ signs or symptoms
Term
stage of diminished capacity (2)
Definition
convalescent period: individual not yet returned to former level of health
residual disability: results from diseases that produce temporary or protracted complications
this stage generally concludes in either full recovery or death
Term
(3) types of prevention.
Primary prevention:
Definition
prevent disease before it develops so as to maintain health; promote general health and avoid risk factors. Health education
ex: vaccinations, diet, exercise, don't smoke
Term
secondary prevention
Definition
intended to reduce duration and severity; decrease prevalance of disease; early dectection and swift treatment of disease
ex: cancer screening, screening infectious disease markers
Term
tertiary prevention
Definition
therapeutic and rehabilitative measures. intended to reduce complications & disability. connected w/ recovery, disability, or death.
ex: support groups, management via medication, diet, exercise
Term
example of TB and prevention:
Definition
1st: (+) TB but don't show symptoms
2nd: chest x-ray (-)
so means you host disease but at the subclinical stage so can get treated
Term
what is the difference between antibodies and antigens?
Definition
antibodies help produce imuunity to disease; antigen is an invading substance that triggers production of antibodies
Term
(3) types of immunity are?
Definition
active immunity (vaccines or lifetime serums)
passive immunity (maternal or therapeutic)
herd immunity (large % of pop immune)
Term
is the study observational, or experimental? what is the difference
Definition
observational- the subjects naturally divide themselves. exposure status is NOT under control of the investigators.
experimental- involve some type of intervention and control of exposure status by the investigators.
Term
what is the directionality of the study?
Definition
cross-sectional, cohort, case-control
Term
what is the timing of data collection?
Definition
concurrent, historical, mixed
Term
what is a rate?
Definition
a measure of intensity that occurs in events in a defined period of time
Term
what is the difference in a person-time incidence rate and a cumulative incidence rate?
Definition
both rates describe new cases.
person-time uses person-time units and account for drop-outs, deaths, in study in the denominator.
cumulative incidence is a measure of risk of disease development. IR(cum) assumes that subjects enter study at the same time.
Term
what is a prevalence rate and how does it differ from incidence rate?
Definition
prevalence deals with what exists, and incidence rates deal with new cases.
Prevalance rates reflect risk and duration. They do not estimate risk, like incidence.
Term
what are confidence intervals used to estimate?
Definition
the probable range in which the population rate lies. Sample size, sample variance, and chose confidence level affect the range of confidence intervals
Term
what are crude rates? what are their cons? what is the solution to crude rates?
Definition
overall or summary rates for a defined population. can be distorted (confounded) by differences underlying population distriubutions, especially age
solution: adjusted rates
Term
the direct method of age adjustment needs what to use?
Definition
age-specific rates for the populations being compared must be available and stable
Term
the indirect method of age-adjustment determines what?
Definition
how the summary rate chaanges in the population with unavailble specific rates, after applying the specific rates of the standard population
Term
A ratio reflects?
Definition
the strength of the association between an exposure and outcome
Term
A difference indicates what of the outcome?
Definition
how much of the outcome in the exposed group is associated with the exposure
Term
spurious associations are what types of associations and what do they result from?
Definition
false associations. usually result form sampling error or bias
Term
noncausal associations are what types of associations and are a result of what?
Definition
they are real associations, but are not causal associations. usually they represent secondary associations due to confounding factors.
Term
Who developed Hill's postulates? And what are they?
Definition
Sir Austin Bradford Hill. 1. correct temporal sequence. 2. strength of the association. 3. consistency of the association. 4. dose-response relationship. 5. biological plausiblity. 6. experimental evidence.
Term
studies ranked from major types of epi studies in degree to which causal association is likely to be demonstrated:
Definition
1. RCT
2. Rcommunity trial
3. prospective cohort
4. retrospective cohort
5. case-control
6. cross-sectional
7. ecological
8. descriptive study
Term
what is a necessary cause?
Definition
one that is required to produce an outcome
Term
what is a sufficient cause?
Definition
one that can produce an outcome by itself
Term
what is the most common types of causes that account fo rmost chronic diseases?
Definition
not neccessary and not sufficient
Term
what measure of association is used for case-control studies?
Definition
Odds Ratio
Term
what measure of association is used for cohort studies?
Definition
OR or RR. Relative Risk is the most frequently used measure of association
Term
when is the odds ratio a very good approximation of the relative risk?
Definition
when the disease is infrequent
Term
RR is important as a measure of the strength of association and potential for a causal relationship. So, attributable risk looks at:
and it asks:
Definition
Looks at the amount or proportion of disease incidence (or disease risk) that can be attributed to a certain exposure.
It asks: how much of the disease occurred can be attributed to certain exposure?
Indicates: potentential for prevention if exposure eliminated
Term
What are two causes of spurious associations?
Definition
they are false associations.
either sampling error, or bias.
Term
what are two causes of noncausal associations?
Definition
either confounding, or exposure order.
Term
if a study is accurate, it is _____.
Definition
Valid. Have you chosen to measure concept accurately? It is the extent to which the study findings are free of error.
Term
validity = _____
(2) types
Definition
the degree of systematic error.
1. internal validity - relates to target population
2. external - relates to other populations
Term
what is slection bias?
Definition
systematic error in selecting/retaining subjects (i.e. non-response of potential study subjects)
Term
measurement bias (2) types
Definition
error in classifying subjects to exposure or outcome status (information bias)
(1) differential: over or underestimates magnitude of the measure of association. systematic (nonrandom) error
(2) nondifferential misclassification: results in dilution of the measure of association toward the null value
Term
How do we control for bias?
Definition
Random selection, standardizing measurement, blinding investigators, aggressive following of subject to remain in study
Term
to be a confounder:
Definition
-must be associated with both exposure and outcome variables
-cannot be intermediate step (mediator)
(+) confounder overestimates
(-) confounder underestimates
-threatens internal validity
Term
precision =
and two types of common error are =
Definition
the degree of nonsystematic error.
two types: random measurement error and sampling error
Term
sampling error is?
Definition
random variation in sample. the study sample will never perfectly represent target population.
type I(alpha level): probability of finding association when NONE exists
type II(beta level): probability of NOT finding association when one does exist
type II is safer
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