Chapter 3: Epidemiology Flashcards
Cases
People afflicted with a disease
Rate:
The number of events that concur in a given population in a given amount of time
Natality Rate:
Number of live births/ population
Morbidity Rate:
The number of people who were being sick/ total population at risk
Mortality or Fatality Rate:
Number of deaths in a population/ population
Population at risk:
People who are susceptible to a particular disease or condition
Incidence rate:
The number of new health-related events or cases of a disease/ total number in the population at risk
Acute diseases
When they became afflicted
( does not previously ill people)
Acute disease:
An illness that lasts 3 months or less
Attack Rate:
An incidence rate caluclated for a particular ppulationn for a single disease outbreak and is expressed as a percentage
Ex. illness on flight/ passengers on flight
Prevalence Rate:
The number of new and old cases of a disease in a population in a given period of time/ total number in that population
(counts all old and new cases)
Chronic disease
More usefule in planning new programs, personnel needs, and facilities
Chronic Disease
A disease or condition that lasts longer than 3 months
John Snow:
Father of Epidemiology
Cohort:
A specific category
Placebo:
Blank treatment
Epidemiology:
the study of the distribution & determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations and the application of this study to control health problems.
Endemic:
a disease that occurs regularly in a population as a matter, of course,
Heart Disease in America and Malaria in Africa
Epidemic:
An unexpectedly large number of cases of an illness, specific health-related behavior, or other head-related events in a particular population
Gun Violence (America)
Why are epidemiologists concerned with numbers?
Compare events that occur at different times and places.
Why are some epidemiologists concerned with zoology?
Disease may start in animals which then can transfer to humans.
Notifiable Diseases:
diseases for which health officials request or require reporting for public health needs
Diseases can become an epidemic cancer, HIV, Lyme disease, Anthrax, etc.
What is tje noyifable disease reporting procedure?
Local→ State→ National
National Electronic Telecommunications System:
electronic reporting system used by state departments and CDC
Why is the information reported by the local offices sometimes isn’t the best?
Reported by doctors’ offices and hospitals ( I think)
Some places could be busy to keep up with reporting, unfamiliar with reporting, patients recover before a diagnosis is confirmed, and don’t seek care.
Mortality Statistics:
Most reliable
depends age, sex, race and ethnicity
Shifted from communicable to non-communicable
Define Life expectancy
The average number of years a person from a specific cohort is projected to live from a given point in time
Compare health status for various populations
When is life expectancy calculated?
birth, 65, and 75
Which country has the highest life expectancy?
Japan (84 years)
What are the shared traits of the longes-lived people?
Support system/social network
Eating wisely
Right outlook (stop to smell the roses)
Move naturally
What is Health Adjusted Life expectancy?
The number of years of healthy life expected on average in a given population
What are the 3 leading causes of death in America with age?
Heart Disease (>65)
Cancer (44-64)
Accidents (1-44)
Accidents: Unintentional, injuries, gun violence
What did the 19th century suffer from?
Communicable diseases
Why do women live longer than men?
More cardioprotective than men due to menopaue- estrogen
Better immune systems
Infant Mortality
the number of deaths of children under 1 year old per every 1,000 live births; big indicator of the health status of a population
Epizootic Rates
diseases that start in animals can sometimes transfer to humans and start outbreaks in human populations and tracking epizootic helps to determine the source of these diseases
Prevalence vs Incidence Rates
when it comes to chronic diseases, prevalence rates are more useful than incidence rates because it is more important to know how many people are currently suffering from chronic diseases than it is to know in what time period they keep became afflicted
What is secondary data useful for?
planning of public health projects and facilities
US Census
Every 10 years; # of people, race, age, income, employment,, education, dwelling type, etc.
Vital Statitics Report:
records of major life events → birth, deaths, marriage, divorce, and infant detah
Which department takes care of Vital Statistics Report?
National Care for Health Statistics- Under CDC
By who and how is data collected for the morbidity and mortality weekly report?
CDC
Data by state and region
Why is self reported data not relibale
people tend to underreport bad health habits, overreport good health habits, and overall embellish their lifestyles to satisfy their egos!
Descriptive Epidemiological Studies
the epidemiologist gathers data about the person, place, and time of the disease outbreak (who, when, and where?)
What is the purpose of experimental studies:?
To find out the cause of disease, determine vaccine, drugs, etc
What is the purpose of control varaible, use of tratement, control groups, randomization, and blinding?
Prevents biasness
Randomization
random selection
Blindings
process used in experimental research by which study participants, persons caring for the participants, persons providing the intervention, data collectors and data analysts are kept unaware of group assignment
Double blindings
an experimental procedure in which neither the participant nor the experimenter are aware of which group (i.e., experimental or control) each participant belongs to.
Intervention
more stuff added to the treatment
excercise
What are the 4 national health surveys?
National Health Interview Survey; National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; Behvaior Risk Factor Surveillance System; Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System
National Health Interview Survey
Self reported questions about health
National Health & Nutrition Examniation Survey:
Assess the health & nutritional status of the general US population
Mobile examination center
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System:
State based telephone survey
High risk behavior: cigar smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, etc.
Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System
National School based survey by the CDC
