Epidemiology

Question 1

Define Epidemiology.

Answer 1

The study of factors that modify or influence the distribution of diseases/adverse health effects in a (human) population

Question 2

Difference between risk assessment and risk management in terms of basis?

Answer 2

Assessment: Science based
Management: policy based

Both are related through Rick Communication

Question 3

List the four (simplified) steps of handling a toxicant.

Answer 3

Surveillance (what’s the problem?)
Risk Factor Identification (what’s the cause?)
Intervention Evaluation (what works?)
Implementation (how do I do it?)

Humans are exposed to all sorts of things all the time, it’s a matter of finding what causes what and how

Question 4

Why aren’t humans like animal models?

Answer 4

Vaiability (x10 between species, x100 between individuals)

Question 5

What is the key difference between an observational and an experimental study?

Answer 5

Observational: usually epidemiological
Experimental: usually toxicological

Question 6

List the three types of observational studies.

Answer 6

Cross-sectional: Exposed and unexposed cases, review differences to find cause

Cohort: Take a “cohort” with one trait in common and compare previous exposures (retrospective) or compare future exposures (prospective)

Case-control: one disease with many factors

Question 7

List the eight characteristics of an ideal database.

Answer 7

• Well-defined population
• Contains records of all medications prescribed
• Contains records of all hospitalizations
• Contains records of all relevant variables
• All deaths are recorded
• Original records are readily available and accessible
• Expertise is available to assist with data searches
• Each patient is identified with by a unique number

Question 8

List three reasons we do not live in an ideal database.

Answer 8

• Selection bias
• Information bias
• Confounding factors

Question 9

What are the most to least credible sources of information?

Answer 9

Systematic review > Cohort Study > Case Control Study > Cross sectional&raquo_space;» Expert opinion

Question 10

What factors (5) could link a disease to a toxicant?

Answer 10

• High relative risk
• Reproducible studies
• Dose-response relationship
• Follow-up populations
• Historical source of occupational disease-toxin links