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Epidemiology

The distribution and determinants of health and diseases, morbidity, injuries, disabilities, and mortality in populations.

Epidemic

The occurrence in a population or region of cases of an illness, health-related behavior, or health events in excess of normal expectancy.

Pandemic

An epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a wide area crossing international boundaries, usually affecting a large number of people.

Population

All the inhabitants of a given country or area considered together.

Exposure

Contact with a disease-causing factor or the amount of the factor that impinges upon a group or individuals.

Determinant

Any factor that brings about change in health condition or other defined characteristic.

Morbidity

Illness due to a disease.

Mortality

Death.

Risk assessment

Methodology used to provide quantitative measurements of risk to health.

Risk factor

An exposure that’s associated with disease, morbidity, mortality, and health conditions.

Natural experiment

Naturally occurring circumstances in which subsets of the populations have different levels of exposure to causal factors in a situation resembling an actual experiment.

Observational science

Capitalizes on naturally occurring situations in order to study the occurrence of disease.

Quantification

Refers to counting the cases of illness or other health outcomes.

Difference between epidemic and pandemic?

Epidemic refers to a specific population or region affected; pandemic refers to an epidemic occurring worldwide.

Difference between morbidity and mortality?

Morbidity refers to illness; mortality refers to death.

Primary prevention

Prevention before the disease occurs. Example: controlling elevated blood pressure.

Secondary prevention

Prevention during the progression of the disease; example: managing elevated blood pressure in persons with heart disease.

Tertiary prevention

Improvement of quality of life during later disease stages; example: managing blood pressure post-heart attack.

John Graunt

First to employ quantitative methods in epidemiology; known as the 'Columbus of Statistics'.

Alexander Fleming

Discovered the antimicrobial properties of the mold Penicillium notatum in 1928.

Robert Koch

Demonstrated the association between a microorganism and a disease.

Edward Jenner

Developed methods for smallpox vaccination using cowpox.

John Snow

Innovated epidemiologic methods and theorized that cholera was transmitted by contaminated water.

Hippocrates

Proposed that disease could be caused by environmental factors and health practices.

Paracelsus

One of the founders of toxicology, known for the dose-response relationship.

William Farr

Developed a sophisticated system for codifying medical conditions and studying mortality rates.

William Carter Jenkins

African American public health advocate who contributed to ending the Tuskegee Study.

Casual association

A relationship where one variable (the cause) directly influences the occurrence of a health outcome (the effect).

Key characteristics of epidemiology

Includes prevention and control, study of causality, and determination of risk factors.

Current uses of epidemiology

Includes historical documentation of morbidity and mortality patterns, community health, and risk assessment.