midterm Flashcards

1
Q

Which of the following is
NOT route of toxicological
exposure?
A. Inhalation
B. Ingestion
C. Dermal
D. All the above actually are
toxicological exposure
routes

A

D. All the above actually are
toxicological exposure
routes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

True or False? r-selected
species generally are
slower-growing than K-
selected species

A

false

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

True or false? Consumerism,
but not population growth,
impact sustainability

A

false

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

List the five modern
advancements of
environmental health:

A
  1. Identification of Chemical
    Hazards
  2. Environmental Psychology
  3. Ecohealth
  4. Expansion of health care
    services related to
    environmental exposures
  5. Development of
    Environmental Health Policies
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is the difference between disease genes and environmental response genes?

A

Disease genes cause diseases regardless of environmental exposures, whereas ERGs require a specific exposure to be activated

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

subcategory of public health

A

Environmental health

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

environmental health

A

field of public health that addresses
physical, chemical, biological, social, and psychosocial
factors in the environment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Goal/ aim of environmental health

A
  1. control and prevent environmental hazards
  2. promote health and well-being through environmental strategies
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Industrialization brought
* Urban crowding/ cramped housing
* Lack of functioning, proper sewers & water treatment
* Feces on the streets
which then caused…

A

Sanitation became important in as cities grew in the age of
industrialization

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Workplace conditions, especially in factories, was terrible

A

*No safety protocols
* Pollution
* Children in factories

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Charles Turner Thackrah

A

Occupational Health

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Alice Hamilton

A

Occupational Health

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Jon Snow

A

Epidemiology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Edwin Chadwick

A

Social Epidemiology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Rachel Carson

A

Recognition of Environmental Hazards

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

5 trends in environmental health

A
  1. Environmental Justice
  2. Focus on Susceptible Groups
  3. Scientific Advances
  4. Global Changes
  5. Moves Towards Sustainability
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q
  1. environmental justice (trend)
A

Ethical Obligations to ensure equity and equality in context of environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q
  1. Focus on Susceptible Groups (trend)
A

Generational Equity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q
  1. Scientific Advances (trend)
A

New fields and technologies popping up all the time!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q
  1. Global Changes (Trend)
A

We realize global factors of environmental health

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q
  1. Moves Towards Sustainability (trend)
A

Renewable Energy Source

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Ecology is

A

the science that studies the interaction of living
things in relation to their environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Ecology tends to

A

-in relation to one another, both biotic and abiotic
- By definition, it looks at things holistically

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

biotic

A

relating to or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

abiotic

A

physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Biodiversity

A

the degree of variation of life in all its forms, varies also at the question of scale–it is hierarchical

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Autotrophs

A

producers in the food chain, meaning they create their own nutrients and energy.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

heterotroph

A

an organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Detrivores

A

an animal which feeds on dead organic material, especially plant detritus.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Characteristics of
populations are governed
by ecologic processes

A

Including population size
* Birth Rate/ Reproduction Rate
* Death Rate
* Immigration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Population dynamics

A

The relationships between organisms affects population size

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

carrying capacity

A

maximum population that can be sustained indefinitely

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Life Span Short

A

R species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Quick to reach maturity

A

r species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

number of offspring- many

A

r species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

size of offspring small

A

r species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

energy spent raising offspring little/ none

A

r species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

population growth- fast

A

r species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

Population size variability Unpredictable, unstable

A

r species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

Population size Below Carrying Capacity

A

r species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

Sustainable practices are necessary to

A

maintain our environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

We require energy

A

to live and, especially, to thrive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

describe our existence and impact on the environment in historical terms

A

Anthropocene

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
44
Q

Sustainable energy and environmental practices

A

key if we wish to survive
long-term as a species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
45
Q

affect sustainability

A

Consumerism and population growth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
46
Q

United Nations has even recognized the importance of sustainability

A

Brundtland Report
* Rio Declaration of Environment and Development
* Millennium Development Goals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
47
Q

According to the “Safe Operating Space for Humanity”, we’ve already

A

began to seriously damage our environment: We’ve already exceeded 3 out of 9 key planetary boundaries

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
48
Q

Metrics are key

A

They need to be realistic, actionable, and appropriate to be successful
* Includes questions of time, scale, accuracy, etc.
* Metrics chosen will affect how you measure things

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
49
Q

How to measure environmental health

A
  • Epidemiology
  • Toxicology
  • Geospatial Analysis
  • Industrial Hygiene
  • Occupational Health
  • Risk Assessment
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
50
Q

Epidemiology

A

Science that assesses the distribution and determinants of health and disease among populations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
51
Q

Looks at exposure relationships and tries to assess causality; focuses on measures of association

A

Epidemiology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
52
Q

Causality is not easy to prove

A

epidemiology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
53
Q

Looks at events
* Morbidity and Mortality

A

epidemiology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
54
Q

Prevalence

A

the quantity of affected people in a specified
population at a given time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
55
Q

Prevalence=

A

number of affected people/total population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
56
Q

Incidence

A

looks at the number of newly affected individuals in
a specific population at a specific time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
57
Q

insidence=

A

newly affected people/ number of persons at risk

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
58
Q

rule of incidence

A

Persons in the numerator must have the potential to be in the denominator

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
59
Q

Mortality Rate

A

measure of deaths in a population at a given
time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
60
Q

Measures of Morbidity:

A

Incidence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
61
Q

mortality rate=

A

number of deaths/ number at risk

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
62
Q

Case fatality rate:

A

number of deaths due to a disease among those with disease

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
63
Q

CFR=

A

of deaths due to specific disease/ total # of people with that disease

64
Q

Measures of association

A

quantify the relationship between an
exposure and an outcome

65
Q

Various types of measures:

A
  • Odds
  • Risk
  • Hazards
66
Q

to understand the relationship
between risk factor and outcome

A

need to compare the exposure to non-exposure,
or disease to lack of disease

67
Q

Case Report Cost

A

Very low

68
Q

case report participant selection

A

medical cases

69
Q

case report main measurement

A

none

70
Q

case report is good for

A

describing new diseases

71
Q

case report temporality

A

none

72
Q

ecological cost

A

very low

73
Q

ecological participant selection

A

populations/groups

74
Q

ecological main measurement

A

correlation

75
Q

ecological is good for

A

hypothesis generation

76
Q

ecological temporality

A

snapshot

77
Q

cross section cost

A

low

78
Q

cross sectional participant selection

A

n/a

79
Q

main measurement for cross sectional

A

prevalence

80
Q

cross sectional is good for

A

exploring risk factors

81
Q

cross sectional temporality

A

snapshot

82
Q

case- control cost

A

medium

83
Q

case control participant selection

A

based on disease

84
Q

main measurement for case control

A

prevalence

85
Q

case control is good for

A

prevalence studying rare diseases, more in depth risk factor assessment

86
Q

case control temporality

A

generally retrospective

87
Q

cohort cost

A

high

88
Q

cohort participant selection

A

based on exposure

89
Q

main measurement for cohort

A

incidence

90
Q

cohort is good

A

for studying rare exposures, assessing incidence

91
Q

cohort temporality

A

Retrospective
or Prospective

92
Q

trail cost

A

very high

93
Q

trail participant selection

A

randomization

94
Q

trail main measurement

A

incidence

95
Q

trail is good for

A

Assessing
causation;
researcher
control

96
Q

Temporality trail

A

prospective

97
Q

prospective

A

likely to happen at a future date; concerned with or applying to the future.

98
Q

retrospective

A

looking back on or dealing with past events or situations.

99
Q

Biomarkers

A

Measurable indicator of a biological process

100
Q

Environmental epidemiology

A

Focuses on exposures in the environment
* Air pollution and asthma; arsenic in drinking water and bladder cancer

101
Q

Occupational epidemiology

A

Focuses on workplace exposures and associated outcomes
* Can look at multiple types of exposures:
* Biological: animal waste (farmers)
* Chemical: heavy metals (factory workers)
* Physical: radiation (x-ray technicians), noise (construction workers)

102
Q

Geospatial Analysis

A

-Data used in this field is often linked to place
* Georeferenced data
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

103
Q

spatial statistics

A

the application of statistical concepts and methods to data that have a spatial location attached to them

104
Q

Toxicology is

A

the study of the negative effects of chemical products on biological systems

105
Q

Difference between toxin and toxicant

A

Toxin is usually used when referring to a toxic substance produced naturally. Toxicant is usually used when referring to a toxic substance that is produced by, or a by-product of, man-made activities.

106
Q

ecotoxicology

A

toxicity at the ecological level

107
Q

“The dose makes the poison”

A

Paracelsus, father of toxicology

108
Q

Dose-Response Curves in toxicology

A

Graphical representations of how bad things actually are for you
* Quantitative (exposure: outcome)
* Concentration

109
Q

Toxicological Measures

A

Assess by Chemical class ,Exposure source, and/or Target (“Target organs” )

110
Q

Regulatory

A

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1938)
*TSCA: Toxic Substances Control Act (1976)
*Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
(1984)
*Food Quality Protection Act (1996)
*Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

111
Q

Genetic Regulation

A

turns our genes off and on

112
Q

Endocrine disruptors

A

interferes with proper genetic regulation
* Chemicals that may interfere with the body’s endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife

113
Q

Environmental response gene (ERGs)

A

dictates our response to environmental exposures. If not activated, won’t really do much

114
Q

Disease genes

A

will be problematic regardless of environmental exposures

115
Q

genetic epidemiology

A

specific role of genes in relation to disease (or health) in populations, most often specifically focusing on the gene-environment interactions

116
Q

Molecular studies

A
  • Multiple lab-based studies; big data making it easier, but need to be cautious
  • Over-promise of GW
117
Q

Are clinical trails used in epidemiology?

A

NOOOO

118
Q

Industrial Hygiene (Occupational hygiene)

A

Science and practice of anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and
controlling detrimental environmental and occupational exposures
* Hazards

119
Q

Exposure Science

A

Field that studies human contact with various environmental agents
looking at the mechanisms and dynamics of events that prevents or
leads to disease/health

120
Q

Exposure Assessment

A

Process that estimates/measures/ characterizes magnitude,
frequency, and duration of exposure to agent among populations

121
Q

Four Steps of Industrial Hygiene

A

Anticipation, recognition, evaluation, control

122
Q

Anticipation

A

Proactive estimation of health and safety concerns that are
association with certain jobs or environments

123
Q

Recognition

A

Identification of potential and actual hazards through inspection

124
Q

Evaluation

A

Measuring exposures through visual and/or instrumental monitoring

125
Q

Control

A

Reduction of risk to health and safety through administrative or
engineering measures

126
Q

epidemiology is about

A

relationships

127
Q

Control

A

Form of primary prevention

128
Q

Several approaches to control occupational and environmental
hazards:

A

Substitution: replacement of hazard
* Isolation: containing or limiting human access usually through engineering
* Ventilation: introduction of air or exhaust hoods
* Administrative controls: policies and procedures to reduce risk (e.g. lockout
tags, rotating workers, etc.)
* Protective devices
* Personal protective equipment:gloves, safety glasses

129
Q

Exposure Science

A

Study of human contact with chemical, physical, and/or
biological agents in the environment
(Focuses on mechanisms and dynamics that cause or prevent health outcomes)

130
Q

exposure scientists

A

Evaluate exposure determinants: factors and conditions that influence
exposures

131
Q

exposure assessment

A

Quantifies exposures in both occupation and environments
* Focuses on concentration, exposure, and dose

132
Q

Exposure Science
* What do we care about?

A

Concentration
* Exposure and Exposure Profile
(Total Exposure ,Exposure routes: Inhalation, Ingestion, Dermal)
* Dose
(Absorption factor, Absorbed Dose, Targeted Organ Dose)
* Intensity (Magnitude/ amount of contact between agent and barrier/ boundary)
* Frequency: number of exposure events
* Duration

133
Q

EPA

A

Environmental Protection Agency

134
Q

Exposure Assessment uses:

A

imputation (modeling exposures)
(Creation of a physical or conceptual mathematical representation of the exposure process, including events and outcomes)
* Measuring environmental exposure
* Measuring personal exposures
* Measuring biomarkers

135
Q

exposure assessment can also used

A

Measuring environmental exposure
* Measurement can be made:
* Fixed locations (area sampling), Tends to be used for air pollution monitoring, Using individuals (personal sampling)
*Measuring personal exposure
* Placing a small device on a person
* Reference approach because it accounts for time, location, and behaviors

136
Q

Duplicate diet studies:

A

Collects meals identical to those eaten by study subjects over a period of time to measure presence of a particular agent in food

137
Q

Food diaries:

A

you write down everything you ate over a certain period, including size/quantity, food type, frequency, etc.
* Also used A LOT in nutritional epidemiology

138
Q

Risk assessment:

A

stepwise process of organizing information about a particular hazard* Very much tied to exposure assessment

139
Q

In risk assessment, we look at:

A

What can go wrong
* Likelihood
* Consequences
* How tolerable the risk actually is

140
Q

Five Steps for Risk Assessment:

A

1.Problem Formulation
2. Hazard Identification
3. Dose-Response Assessment
4. Exposure Assessment
5. Risk Characterization

141
Q

Ethics

A

Branch of philosophy that focuses on what is right/ wrong
*Formal approach to assessing what is right or wrong
*Can be looked at the personal level, professional level, and
even societal level
*Fundamental to public health

142
Q

When we talk about ethics in the context of public health we talk about

A
  • Bioethics
  • Care ethics
143
Q

what is esstential to ethics?

A

Transparency and objectivity are essential

144
Q

Active need for ethics leads to:

A

Advocacy
(Fighting for what you believe)
* Activism
(Persistent advocacy)

145
Q

Environmental Justice

A

It can be argued that we are ethically bound to understand and
combat the fundamental causes of disease

146
Q

Health Disparities exist because

A

inequities and inequalities

147
Q

Environmental Justice is the concept of

A

protecting all
communities from environmental hazards, while providing
equal access to all communities to environmental, social, and
economic aspects that promote health and well-being

148
Q

Environmental Psychology

A

Multidisciplinary field within psychology
* Focuses primarily on the built environment

149
Q

two main fields of environmental psychology

A

Conservation Psychology
* Ecopsychology

150
Q

Conservation Psychology

A

Studies development of environmental attitudes

151
Q

Ecopsychology

A

Studies relationship between people and the ecosystem

152
Q

When people ”accept” a chronic exposure (e.g. noise, urban decay), it leads to

A

learned helplessness
(Belief that nothing they do can help them overcome the problem)

153
Q

We can apply the concepts of environmental psychology to the real world via:

A

design/ design thinking
urban planning

154
Q

Design

A

is an applied field of creative thinking with the purpose of specifically solving problems, based on the needs of the actual final user

155
Q

One method used is design thinking

A

Five step process (empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test) that is a problem-solving equivalent to scientific method (hypotheses generation)

156
Q

Urban Planning

A
  • Multidisciplinary field that focuses on the development and design of the use of land use and infrastructure
  • Uses public policies to improve the quality of life of all users of the built environment