Measuring and Describing Disease (1)

Question 1

What is epidemiology?

What is the purpose of epidemiology?

Answer 1

How often diseases occur in different groups of people and why

Helps prevent transmission of disease

Question 2

What are the 3 types of prevention?

Answer 2

Primary = prevention of disease through the control of exposure to risk factors 
Secondary = application of measures for early detection 
Tertiary = reduce long term effects, return to normal function e.g. rehabilitation

Question 3

What does the NHS focus on?

Answer 3

Secondary and tertiary prevention

Question 4

In epidemiology, what is meant by the term exposure?

What is meant by the term primary outcome?

Answer 4

Any factor that may be associated with an outcome of interest - e.g. a drug, behaviours, demographic characteristics (independent variable)

The outcome that an investigator considers to be the most important out of all outcomes (dependent variable)

Question 5

What is the demographic transition model? What are the 5 stages of progression?

Answer 5

Stage 1: high birth rate, high death rate
Stage 2: High BR, fast fall DR = increase in total pop
Stage 3: Falling BR, slower fall in DR
Stage 4: low BR, low DR
Stage 5: rising BR, low DR

Question 6

What is the epidemiologic transition model? What are the 4 stages?

Answer 6

1. Pestilence and famine = urbanisation, constraint on food supply, low life expectancy, high BR and DR
2. Receding pandemics = high BR, reducing DR, improvement in water sanitation and hygiene, life expectancy increases = increase in pop
3. Degenerative and Manmade diseases = emergence of non-communicable diseases (CVD / cancers / obesogenic environments), technology = addiction, lack of exercise
4. Delayed degenerative diseases and Emerging Infections = zoonotic diseases