Intro and Basic Concepts Flashcards
what is epidemiology?
the study of the distribution, determinants, and deterrents of morbidity and mortality in the human population
define morbidity
a departure from physical or mental well being
what is public health?
the development, implementation, and analysis of policies designed to maintain or restore optimal population health
what is distribution?
refers to the distribution of morbidity and mortality in a population
what is needed to define distribution? (2)
- population must be defined
- description of frequency and patterns in terms of person, place, or time vairables
what is distribution often considered?
the descriptive arm of epidemiology
what do determinants tell?
why the morbidity or mortality is occurring, basically the cause of the disease state
what are determinants often found by?
analytic or experimental epidemiological methods
what do determinants assess?
risk factors associated with the affected populations
describe how deterrants are used
utilizing the information gleaned from the collected fata, deterrents are mechanisms that can be put in place to reduce or eliminate the incidence and spread of disease
do you have to understand the causes and distribution of a disease to use or determine deterrents?
nope; can be done in anbsence of understanding
what is infectious epidemiology?
- a branch of science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of an infectious disease in a population
what does infectious epidemiology determine?
the sum of factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or a pathogen in a population
what are the most complicated types of infectious diseases?
vector-borne
what is a population?
a WELL-DEFINED group of individuals of a single species; defined by demographics, region, behavior, or other criteria
what is a disease?
any physiologic state in a living organism that represents a departure from normal (homeostasis)
what is the goal of infectious disease epidemiology?
controlling the presence (mitigate damage) or absence (keep it out) of a pathogen
what is a disease agent?
causes the disease state
describe the concept of shoe leather epidemiology
boots on the ground; get out there and collect your data
what is symbiosis?
patterns of interaction among organisms
what is parasitism?
one benefits at the cost of the other
what is mutualism?
both benefit
what is commensalism?
one benfits, the other mostly unaffected
what is the basic premise of infectious disease epidemiology?
disease, illness, and ill health are not randomely distributed in a population, suggesting certain factors influence the presence and spread of disease
what are the 3 aspects of the epidemiologic triangle?
- host: total of conditions favoring susceptibility
- agent: total of virulence, abundance, etc.
- environment: total of conditions favoring disease
what are vector borne disease?
disease spread by vectors (either living or mechanical) and maintained in zoonotic reservoir hosts that represent the most complex epidemiological problems
what is an infection?
entry and multiplication of an agent in the body of a person or animal
what are the 2 types of infections?
acute and chronic
relate acute and chronic infections
acute are caused by viruses and bacteria and will either resolve, become chronic, or host will die
what is disease?
noticeable impairment of body function; an abnormal condition usually with sign and symptoms and a specific causal agent is recognized
what is syndrome?
a collection of signs and symptoms that frequently appear together and characterize a particulr abnormality or condition but where the cause is USUALLY not known
describe infectious diseases (broadly)
all disease caused by microorganisms
describe communicable diseases (kind of synonymous with infectious diseases)
illness due to a specific infectious agent or its toxic products that results from transmission fron an infected person, animal , or inanimate reservoir to a susceptible host, either directly or indirectly
describe transmissible diseases
transmitted with difficulty usually by unnatural routes, like prions
what is ecology?
the totality or pattern of relations between organisms and their environment
what is etiology?
the cause of a disease (for infectious diseases: the infectious agent)
what is the natural history of a disease?
a description of the uninterrupted progression of a disease in an individual from the moment of exposure to causal agents until recovery or death
what is case synonymous with?
exposure
what is a primary case?
the person who brings the disease/infection into a population (can also be the index case but not always)