disease terms lol

epidemiology

study of distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations

descriptive epidemiology

generating hypotheses and identifying patterns among cases and population by time, place, and person

analytical epidemiology

using comparison groups to quantify association between exposures and outcomes to test hypotheses about causal relationships

shoe leather epidemiology

searching for additional cases and clues about source and mode of transmission

genetic epidemiology

causation, distribution, disease, in relatives or inherited cases

molecular epidemiology

exposure to specific substances and biological response

chronic disease epidemiology

depend on sampling & statistical method

clinical approach

Diagnosis & treatment of individuals, medical case, immunization, quitting smoking, obesity counseling. Motivated by symptoms, discomfort, insurance, & sympathy.

public health approach

Control, prevent disease in a population, health promotion. Human behavior, lifestyle, some overlaps in clinical medicine

randomized control trial

human experiment; trials

single blind study

patients/participants do not know which study group they are in

double blind study

either the patient nor the experimenters know which study group the patients are in

triple blind study

the participant, those who administer the treatment or intervention, and the individuals who assess the outcome are all blind

cross sectional study

survey, “snapshot in time”

case control study

compare ppl w/ & w/o disease to find common exposures

cohort study

compare ppl w/ & w/o exposures then track to see wether participants develop the disease

prospective cohort study

participants are followed prospectively over time to identify occurrence of of the outcomes of interest

retrospective cohort study

looks back on exposures & tries to find disease

ecological study

comparisons of geographical locations

case crossover study

only cases used in the study, each case is it’s own control, each person has a “case window” & “control window”

stratification

to evaluate & control for confounding & separating your samples into subgroups

bradford hill criteria

Needs to be met to establish causal relationship & confirm causation’s validity

Strength of the association

relationship between risk factor & outcome

Consistency of findings

observation or associate must be repeatable in different populations, in different study designs & at different times

Specificity of the association

the specific cause can only cause one specific outcome

Alternative explanation

consideration of multiple hypotheses before making conclusions about whether an association is causal or not

Temporal sequence of association

exposure must precede the outcome

Biological/dose-response gradient

Changes in exposure is related to changes in disease rates

Biological plausibility

modern biological research supports the conclusions made

Coherence

the association agrees with the current knowledge of the natural history/biology of the disease

Experiment

the condition can be altered, either prevented, or accelerated, by an appropriate experimental process.

koch’s postulates

Assesses whether a microorganism is directly involved in disease & design of a plan that controls & prevents the outbreak knowing the identity of the pathogen

surveillance

Information for action, systematic & ongoing collection & , analysis, interpretation, & dissemination of data & the distribution of disease related information to those responsible for prevention & control

passive surveillance

(provider-initiated) health-care providers send laboratory reports to the health department on the basis of a known set of rules/regulations

active surveillance

(health department-initiated) health agencies contact health providers to ask for patients with X disease (limited to specific diseases over a limited time period)

sentinel surveillance

specific area/site active or passive surveillance in a particular area in which trends & societal effect are observed & analyzed/when pre-arranged health-care providers (clinics, hospitals, or physicians) agree to report cases of specific diseases

syndromic surveillance

looks at medical data for any abrupt changes that could signify a potential outbreak

medical surveillance

clinically focused monitoring, in a hospital, known diagnosis

endemic

disease or condition present among a population at all times

hypoendemic

Constantly present at low incidence, small populations; outbreaks where transmission occurs all year long

hyperendemic

Constantly present, high incidence, given population

holoendemic

All individuals in population are infected

enzootic

low level of disease constantly in an animal population similar to endemic for humans

Outbreak

(localized epidemic) uptick in the incidence of a disease above historical or typical levels for a time, place, or person

epidemic

large numbers of people over a wide geographic area affected

Epizootic

an outbreak in a large animal population similar to an epidemic in humans.

pandemic

epidemic occurring over a very wide area (several countries or continents) & usually affecting a large proportion of the population

cluster

aggregation of cases over a particular period esp. cancer & birth defects closely grouped in time & space regardless of whether the number is more than the expected number. (often the expected number of cases is not known)

sporadic

a disease that occurs infrequently & irregularly

idiopathic

disease w/ unknown cause that arises spontaneously

etiology

study of cause of disease

latrogenic

an illness that is caused by medication or physician

nosocomial

infection acquired in hospital

quarantine

staying home after exposure but before symptoms

isolation

staying home if you have symptoms or test positive

control

lowering incidence rate so it can be handled locally

incubation period

(contagious) Time in between when a person comes into contact with a pathogen & when they first show symptoms or signs of disease

latent period

(chronic) period between exposure & infection

plague

serious, potentially life-threatening infectious disease that is usually transmitted to humans by the bites of rodent fleas. It was one of the scourges of our early history. There are three major forms of the disease: bubonic, septicemic, & pneumonic.

Risk

probability that an individual will be affected by, or die from, an illness or injury within a stated time or age span

Vector

animal that transmits disease but is not the cause of the disease itself. For example, a mosquito is a vector for malaria

Rate

frequency of event in population over period of time

Ratio

compare 2 values/rates Etiology the study of the causes of diseases

oncology

study of cancer

pathology

study of progression of disease

acute

sudden onset, quick worsening symptoms

anthroponosis

disease transmission from humans to non-humans

antibodies

binds to antigens and combines with foreign substances

antibiotic

medication that destroys or grows microorganisms, effective against bacteria

antigen

foreign substance that induces immune response in body, esp in antibodies

antigenic drift

small genetic changes in virus that changes antigen

antigenic shift

genetic mutation in virus causing major changes to antigen

facultative anaerobe

organism that makes ATP through respiration, can switch to fermentation

aerotolerant anaerobe

use fermentation to produce ATP, can protect from reactive oxygen

accuracy

closeness to measured value/standard/known value

precision

closeness of two or more measurements to each other

causal relationship

correlation to causalities

strength of association

relationship is clear & risk estimate is high

Case

instance of diseases that meets criteria

carrier

who harbors infectious agents for disease

Communicable

disease transferable directly/indirectly from one person to another; infectious

contact tracing

identifying people who may have been exposed to infected

contagious

person-person direct/indirect

infectious

likely transmitted to people or organism from environment

contamination

potentially infectious agent exists in host but hasn’t invaded tissue

consistency

association must be repeatable in different populations at different times

contact

exposure to an infectious agent

chemoprophylaxis

meds to prevent disease

prophylaxis

action to prevent disease

coherence

association should be compatible with existing theory and knowledge including knowledge of past cases and studies