Measurement and errors in research

Question 1

Determinants of health are aka…

Answer 1

• exposure
• treatment
• X

Question 2

health related states and events are aka..

Answer 2

• outcome
• disease
• Y

Question 3

Causation

Answer 3

exposure leads to disease

Question 4

Co-variates

Answer 4

other variables that influence relationship between an exposure and an outcome (includes confounders)

Question 5

What are the 2 types of epidemiology?

Answer 5

descriptive and analytical

Question 6

descriptive epidemiology

Answer 6

hypothesis generation (person, place, time)

Question 7

Analytical epidemiology

Answer 7

hypothesis testing (study design, methods)

Question 8

Hypothesis

Answer 8

exposure X is associated with an increased or decreased risk of outcome Y

Question 9

What are qualities of a good epidemiological exposure variable?

Answer 9

• have impact on health
• measurable
• differentiate populations
• generate testable hypotheses
• help prevent/control disease

Question 10

Disease is worthwhile investigating in terms of…

Answer 10

• number of individuals & types of populations it affects
• its causal pathway or risk characteristics

Question 11

List sources of epidemiological hypothesis

Answer 11

• individual cases
• case series
• descriptive epidemiology finding
• data mining
• lab/animal studies
• analogies to other exposure outcome relationships
• common sense, luck/chance
• other epidemiologists/ publications

Question 12

Finding an epidemiological hypothesis

Answer 12

• read literature
• examine descriptive epidemiological data
• listen to patients and clinicians
• media

Question 13

Issue w/ causation

Answer 13

• etiology of chronic disease often difficult to determine
• most exposures cause many outcomes
• outcomes may be due to multiple exposures (discontinuous) or continual exposure over time
• causes may differ by individual

Question 14

What does epidemiology determine?

Answer 14

relationship between a given exposure and frequency of disease in populations

Question 15

How can we measure exposure?

Answer 15

• questionnaire
• biological lab tests
• radiology
• physical examination
• previous medical records
• sampling of environmental factors
• biomarkers/genetic markers

Question 16

What are the 2 types of measurement error?

Answer 16

bias (systematic) and imprecision (random)