History of Epidemiology. Chapter - I Flashcards
Communicable disease
can be transferred from one person to another, also refered to as infectious diseases; caused by pathogens such as virus, bacteria or fungi; person to person transmission or organism to person e.g. Covid, seasonal flu, Cholera, STI
Non-Communicable diseases
Cannot be transmitted from person to person also referred to as Chronic diseases, it has a long-term and slow progressing characteristics. e.g. cardiovascular diseases, cancer, COPD, Asthma etc..
Risk factors (what causes it?) for communicable diseases
Pathogens, micro-organisms, vector borne e.g. bacteria, virus, mosquito or fungi
Risk factors (exposure=cause) for non-communicable diseases
modifiable and non-modifable risk factors including the social determinants of health. e..g lifestyle, age, socio-economic status, environment, gender, culture, race, childhood etc.
What are the criterias to be fulfilled to develop a research question?
P - Patient or pouplation
I - Intervention (this is exposure or independent variable)
C - Comparision (between two groups)
O - Outcome (what is the dependent variable caused due to the exposure?)
T - Time
S - Study design
Rewrite using PICO method: Is snoring a risk factor for diabetes?
P - Population = Adults
I - Intervention/ Exposure =Snoring
C - in this example no comparision group
O - Outcome = Diabetes
We are trying to determine causality between the exposure and outcome.
Are adults who snore regularly at a greater risk of developing type II
diabetes mellitus as compared to adults who do not snore?
Rewrite using PICO method: Is zinc effective in treating cold in children?
P - Population of interest = Children
I - Intervention/Exposure = Zinc
C - no comparision in the example
O - Outcome or the result of the intervention = treatment against cold
Among children with a common cold, do those who take oral Zinc
experience less symptoms relative to those not taking oral Zinc?
