Lecture 2 Flashcards
is the study of the distribution of disease and determinants of disease frequency in populations
(is the study of causes of disease)
epidemology
to control health problems and improve health at the population level
goal of epidemiology
“counting” the causes and determining variables of morbidity and mortality
operationally
ID factors that are “causes” and are potentially modifiable;
guiding and evaluating interventions to improve public health
operationally
clinical and research concerns:
_1_good or bad; chemical, biological, physical, psychological, educational
2=good or bad; disease, cure, improved attitude, longer life, better quality of life
1 = exposure
2=outcome
we generally know either the exposure or the outcome and we want to __ the other
measure
past achievements of epidemiology and oral health
water fluoridation and dental caries
fluoridated toothpaste and decrease in dental caries
smoking as a risk factor for oral cancer
developmental enamel defects
fluorosis, enamel hypoplasia,
the usual occurrence of a disease in a given population
endemic
a meaningful increase in the occurrence of a disease in a give population
epidemic
spread of a disease across a large region or worldwide
pandemic
exposure of interest
independent variable
outcome of interest
dependent variable
- suspicion of an E to D relationship
- hypothesis formation
- test E to D hypothesis
- rule out alternative explanations
epidemiological reasoning
epidemiology is fundamentally concerned with
populations - measuring distribution of disease in populations and the factors associated with those distributions