All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What is the definition of prevalence in epidemiology?
Answer: Total number of cases in a population at a given time. Includes both new and existing cases (point prevalence).
Flashcard 2: Identify the type of prevention: Mammography used to detect breast cancer early.
Answer: Secondary prevention. Detects disease early when treatment is most effective.
Flashcard 3: What is the operational definition of a risk factor in epidemiology?
Answer: Exposure associated with increased probability of a health outcome. Statistical association, not necessarily causal.
Flashcard 4: What is the definition of mortality rate in epidemiology?
Answer: Deaths in a population during a specified time period. Death rate per population unit over time.
Flashcard 5: What is a risk factor in social epidemiology?
Answer: Characteristic associated with increased probability of disease. Exposure that raises disease risk above baseline.
Flashcard 6: What is the definition of sensitivity for a diagnostic test?
Answer: Probability test is positive given disease is present. True positive rate; ability to detect disease.
Flashcard 7: What is the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?
Answer: Epidemic = regional outbreak; pandemic = worldwide spread. Geographic scope distinguishes these outbreak classifications.
Flashcard 8: What is a risk factor in social epidemiology?
Answer: A characteristic associated with increased disease probability. Identifies factors that increase disease risk but may not cause it.
Flashcard 9: What is the difference between correlation and causation in health research?
Answer: Correlation is association; causation means one variable produces change. Causation requires direct effect, not just statistical relationship.
Flashcard 10: What is the definition of a randomized controlled trial (RCT)?
Answer: Experimental study with random assignment to intervention vs control. Randomization minimizes confounding bias.
Flashcard 11: What is the definition of mortality rate?
Answer: Deaths in a population per unit time. Usually expressed per 1,000 or 100,000 population.
Flashcard 12: What is the definition of epidemiology in public health?
Answer: Study of disease distribution and determinants in populations. Focuses on patterns and causes at the population level.
Flashcard 13: What is the definition of incidence in epidemiology?
Answer: Number of new cases in a population over a time period. Measures disease onset rate, not existing cases.
Flashcard 14: Which measure is most sensitive to disease duration: incidence or prevalence?
Answer: Prevalence. Longer disease duration increases existing cases.
Flashcard 15: State the formula for prevalence using cases and population size.
Answer: prevalence=populationexisting cases. Proportion of population with disease at one time point.
Flashcard 16: State the formula for cumulative incidence (risk) over a time interval.
Answer: risk=population at risknew cases. Cumulative incidence measures probability over time.
Flashcard 17: What is the definition of morbidity (as used in public health)?
Answer: Illness or disease burden in a population. Encompasses all non-fatal health conditions.
Flashcard 18: What is the definition of risk factor in epidemiology?
Answer: Exposure associated with increased probability of disease. Can be modifiable (smoking) or non-modifiable (age).
Flashcard 19: What is the definition of confounding in an epidemiologic study?
Answer: A third variable distorts the exposure–outcome association. Must be associated with both exposure and outcome.
Flashcard 20: What is the definition of selection bias in a study sample?
Answer: Systematic differences from nonrandom participant selection. Occurs when study sample differs from target population.
Flashcard 21: What is the definition of recall bias in observational studies?
Answer: Differential accuracy of remembered past exposures. Common when cases remember exposures better than controls.
Flashcard 22: What is the key feature that distinguishes a cohort study design?
Answer: Groups are defined by exposure and followed for outcomes. Prospective design: exposure precedes outcome.
Flashcard 23: What is the key feature that distinguishes a case-control study design?
Answer: Groups are defined by outcome; prior exposures are compared. Retrospective design: outcome already occurred.
Flashcard 24: Which study design is most efficient for rare diseases: cohort or case-control?
Answer: Case-control. Starts with cases, making rare outcomes feasible to study.
Flashcard 25: State the formula for relative risk (RR) using risk in exposed and unexposed groups.
Answer: RR=risk in unexposedrisk in exposed. Compares disease risk between exposed and unexposed.
Flashcard 26: State the formula for odds ratio (OR) using odds in exposed and unexposed groups.
Answer: OR=odds in unexposedodds in exposed. Approximates RR when disease is rare.
Flashcard 27: Identify whether causation is supported: RR=1.0 for exposure and disease.
Answer: No association (neither increased nor decreased risk). RR=1 means equal risk in both groups.
Flashcard 28: What does the term health disparity mean in social epidemiology?
Answer: Systematic health differences linked to social disadvantage. Often tied to socioeconomic status, race, or geography.
Flashcard 29: What is a confounder in an epidemiologic association between exposure and outcome?
Answer: Third variable related to both that distorts the true association. Must be associated with both exposure and outcome.
Flashcard 30: What is epidemiology in the context of population health and disease prevention?
Answer: Study of disease distribution and determinants in populations. Focuses on patterns and causes at the population level, not individuals.