Introduction to Epidemiology Flashcards
What is evidence based medicine?
using the best available evidence for decision making in the care of patients.
What 2 sources does evidence based medicine combine?
internal evidence (experience/expertise) and external evidence (research)
What is epidemiology?
the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states, or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to the control of health problems.
With epi, are you studying disease at the individual level, or at the population level?
population level.
What is veterinary epidemiology?
deals with the investigation of diseases, productivity, and welfare, in animal populations, and how these things are affected by diseases.
Descriptive epidemiology deals with the 4 Ws. What are they?
Who, what, when, where. It describes the px of dx and studies the natural hx of dx.
Analytical epi deals with what?
Answers why. It identifies causes and risk factors of dz and evaluates preventative and therapeutic measures.
There are 2 different approaches to epi: the clinical approach and the epidemiological approach. Which is the best?
Best: using both! (however, you can have success with the epi approach without knowing etiology, so that’s cool i guess).
What is the difference between descriptive epi and analytical epi?
descriptive epi just describes dz, while analytical epi determines if there is an association between an exposure and outcome in a population, and how strong that association is.
What are some limitations of descriptive epidemiology?
can’t formally ID associations between exposure and outcome, can’t infer causality, but CAN generate a hypotheses for future testing.
What are some examples of descriptive epi studies?
case report, case series, and cross sectional study.
What is the goal of analytical epidemiology?
to ID the strength, importance, and statistical significance of associations between exposure and health related outcomes. (establish causation)
T/F: a strong association means there is a causal relationship
NO. Correlation does not equal causation.
What is a positive association?
when there is an increase (or decrease) in one thing, and a corresponding increase (or decrease) of another thing. They basically move in the same direction.
What is a negative association?
when one thing increases/decreases, and the other does the opposite (decreases/increases).
What is an outcome?
a result or response, usually dz or some other change in health status.
What is an exposure?
A potential determinant of disease or health status.
When does an exposure become a determinant?
when is is shown to be associated with the outcome.
What is another name for determinants?
risk factors (increased risk) or protective factors (decreased risk)
T/F: epi determines the cause of a dz in a given individual.
False. It determines the association between a given exposure and frequency of dz in populations. We infer causation based upon the association.
What is causation? If found, does cause of dz mean only cause?
causation - implies that there is a true mechanism that leads from the exposure to the dz. Does NOT mean only cause.
When is the epidemiological triad inadequate?
For dzs that appear to have multiple contributing causes, without a single necessary one
What is a necessary cause?
it is something that is needed for dz to occur. Won’t occur without it.
What is a sufficient cause?
Various component causes that come together to cause dz.
Who came up with the causal pies?
Rothman
Bradford-Hill Criteria does what?
Gives you guidelines to what is necessary for determining whether an association is causal or not.
