M2 Chpt 3: Nutritional Epidemiology & Research Methods

Question 1

Community Nutrition Research

Answer 1

The organized study of a trend at both the basic and more applied levels that focuses on social, structural, and physical environmental inequities through active involvement of community members, organizational representatives, and researchers in all aspects of the research process w/ specific topics varying between investigators and the public

Question 2

Epidemiology

Answer 2

• The study of determinants, occurrence, and distribution of health and disease in a defined population
• Studies associations

Question 3

Categories of Epidemiological Studies (3)

Answer 3

• Descriptive – Organizing data by time, place, and person
• Analytic – Aiming to examine associations or commonly hypothesized causal relationships, and incorporating a case-control or cohort study
• Experimental – Clinical or community trials of treatments and other intervention

Question 4

Nutritional Epidemiology

Answer 4

The study of dietary intake and the occurrence of disease in human populations

Question 5

Exposure

Answer 5

The characteristics or agents that a person comes in contact with that may be related to disease risk

Question 6

Categories of Public Health Nutritional Epidemiology Research

Answer 6

Observational and experimental/clinical

Question 7

Experimental/clinical Study

Answer 7

• Researcher controls the client’s behavior

- Ex: dietary intake

Question 8

Observational Study

Answer 8

• Researcher does not intervene or manipulate behavior

- Observes dietary intake rather than change it

Question 9

What is the main difference between observational and experimental/clinical study designs?

Answer 9

The control the researcher may have over participants

Question 10

Observational studies of individuals include (3)

Answer 10

• Cross-sectional study
• Case-control study
• Cohort study

Question 11

Cross-sectional Study

Answer 11

• Nutrient intake and outcome are both measured at the same time
• Goal of the study – describe the relationship between disease and dietary intake in a specified community at a particular time
• Aka prevalence/descriptive study

Question 12

Case-control Study

Answer 12

• A group who were recently diagnosed w/ a diet-related disease and a group without the disease from the same population are interviewed concerning their dietary habits
• The differences between the groups are compared
• Goal of the study – to identify the cause of a disease among a group of people, or the cause-and-effect relationships of the health condition
• AKA retrospective/case-referent studies

Question 13

Cohort Study

Answer 13

• Baseline factors are evaluated, and participants are followed over time to monitor disease occurrence
• AKA prospective/follow-up/longitudinal studies

Question 14

Observational studies of groups include (1)

Answer 14

Ecological studies

Question 15

Ecological Studies

Answer 15

• Compare collective data that represents entire populations
• Focuses on the comparison of groups, not individuals
• Purpose – make biological implications about the association between exposure and disease outcome in various communities within a population or to make ecological inferences about effects on group rates

Question 16

What do experimental studies involve?

Answer 16

• Intentional alteration of or intervention in the course of a disease
• Randomized clinical trial – a prospective study where participants are randomly assigned to intervention and control groups

Question 17

Genetic Epidemiological Studies

Answer 17

• Use genetic epidemiology and molecular epidemiology

- Could be cross-sectional or an intervention

Question 18

Molecular Epidemiology

Answer 18

Questions related to physical and hormonal mechanisms leading to taste preferences, hunger, and satiety

Question 19

Incidence

Answer 19

The rate of new cases with a new health condition during a specific period

Question 20

Prevalence

Answer 20

• The total number of people who have had a certain disease during a specific period
• Including new and existing cases

Question 21

Confounders

Answer 21

• Outside variable that affects the variables being studied

- Factor that affects results and could have been the reason for results rather than variables being studied

Question 22

Quantitative Research

Answer 22

Random sample surveys and structured interviews are used to collect mostly quantifiable data that is analyzed using statistical techniques

Question 23

Qualitative Research

Answer 23

• Studies of the nature of phenomena
• Answers why something is/is not observed
• Better for a specific incident being studied
• Ex: Analyzing a social behavior such as food choice and dieting

Question 24

Mixed Method Study

Answer 24

Where quantitative and qualitative are combined in the same research study

Question 25

Ground Truthing

Answer 25

A verification process that uses data gather by direct observation to validate data gathered from secondary sources

Question 26

The Epidemiological Triangle explores health and disease using these 3 elements

Answer 26

• An agent
• A host
• An environment

Question 27

How do the elements of the Epidemiological Triangle influence each other?

Answer 27

• They have equal strength and any change in one will result in disequilibrium
• Equilibrium – does not mean optimal health but it signals the usual patterns of illness and health in a population

Question 28

Agent

Answer 28

• Behavior, factor that leads to the disease

- Ex: Diet or sedentary lifestyle

Question 29

Host

Answer 29

• Personal characteristics of the population at risk for disease
• Include: age, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, eating patterns, exercise behavior, & lifestyle