Behavioral Science- Epidemiology/Biostatistics Flashcards
Cross-sectional study
Observational. Collects data from a group of people to assess frequency of disease (an related risk factors) at a particular point in time. Measures disease prevalence. Can show risk factor association with disease, but does not establish causality
Case-control study
Observational and retrospective. Compares a group of people with disease to a group without disease. Looks for prior exposure or risk. Measures by odds ratio.
Cohort study
Observational and prospective or retrospective. Compares a group with a given exposure or risk factor to a group without such exposure. Looks to see if exposure increased the likelihood of disease. Relative risk
Twin Concordance Study
Compares the frequency with which both monozygotic twins or both dizygotic twins develop same disease. Measures heritability and influence of environmental factors
Adoption Study
Compares siblings raised by biological vs adoptive parents. Measures heritability and influence of environmental factora
Clinical trial
Experimental study involving humans. Compares therapeutic benefits of 2 or more treatments, or of treatment and placebo. Study quality improbes when study is randomized, controlled, and double-blinded
What is the difference between double-blinded and triple-blinded?
Double-blinded: neither patient nor doctor knows whether the patient is in the treatment or control group.
Triple-blinded: refers to the additional blinding of the researchers analyzing the data.
Define: Phase I Drug Trial
Small number of healthy volunteers. “Is it safe?” Assesses safety, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics
Define: Phase II Drug Trial
Small number of patients with disease of interest. “Does it work?” Assesses treatment efficacy, optinal dosing, and adverse effects.
Define: Phase III Drug Trials
Large number of patients randomly assigned with to the treatment under investigation or to the best available treatment (or placebo). “Is it as good or better?”
Define: Phase IV Drug Trials
Postmarketing surveillance trial of patients after approval. “Can it stay?” Detects rare or long-term adverse effects. Can result in drugs being withdrawn from market.
Define: Sensitivity
The proportion of people with disease who test positive for the disease. Used for screening in disease with low prevalence.
Give the equation for sensitivity
True-Positive / [(True-Positive) + (False-Negative)]
Define: Specificity
The proportion of all people without disease who test negative. High specificity test used for confirmation after a positive screening test.
Give the equation for specificity
True-Negative / [(True-Negative) + (False-Positive)]
Define: Positive Predictive Value (PPV)
Proportion of positive tests that are true positives
Give the equation for positive predictive value (PPV)
True-Positive/ [(True-Positive)+ (False-Positive)]
Define: Negative Predictive Value (NPV)
Proportion of negative tests that are true negatives
Give the equation for Negative Predictive Value (NPV)
True-Negative/ [(True-Negative) + (False-Negative)]
What is the difference between incidence and prevalence?
Incidence looks at new cases
Prevalence looks at all current cases
When are incidence and values similar? When are they different?
Similar- when the disease duration is short e.g. common cold
Different- when the disease is chronic
e.g. diabetes
Give the equation for incidence rate
Incidence Rate = (number of new cases in a specified time period) / (population at risk during same time period)
Give the equation for prevalence
Prevalence = (number of existing cases) / (Population at risk)
In what studies are odds ratios used?
OR are typically used in case-control studies.
Define: Odds Ratio (OR)
Odds that the group with the disease (cases) was exposed to a risk factor (a/c) divided by the odds that the group without the disease (controls) was exposed (b/d)
Give the equation for odds ratio
(a/c) / (b/d)
In what studies are relative risk used?
RR are typically used in cohort studies
Define: Relative Risk (RR)
Risk of developing disease in the exposed group divided by risk in the unexposed group.
Give the equation for relative risk (RR)
= [a/(a+b)] / [c/(c+d)]
At what point is the relative risk approximately equal to odds ratio?
When the prevalence is low
Define: Relative Risk Reduction (RRR)
The proportion of risk reduction attributable to the intervention as compared to a control
Give the equation for Relative Risk Reduction (RRR)
RRR = 1- RR