Introduction to Epidemiology Exam 1 Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards created from the Introduction to Epidemiology (P_HLTH 3450) Exam 1 Review lecture.

Epidemiology

The study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations and the application of this study to the control of health problems.

Reverse Causation

An explanation for an association where the disease or outcome actually causes the exposure, rather than the exposure causing the disease.

Hill's Causal Criteria

A set of guidelines used to evaluate causal associations, including temporal relationship, strength of association, dose-response, consistency, biological plausibility, coherence, analogy, specificity, and experimental evidence.

Specificity (Hill's Causal Criteria)

A causal criterion stating that a particular exposure is associated with a specific outcome (e.g., Silica exposure leading to Silicosis).

Sufficient Cause

A single cause or set of conditions that inevitably produces disease.

Component Cause

A single condition that forms part of at least one sufficient causal set.

Necessary Cause

A causal condition that appears in every single sufficient set for a disease to occur.

Susser's Pragmatic Causal Criteria

A causal framework requiring three criteria: Association (statistical relationship), Time order ($X$ must precede $Y$), and Direction ($X$ causes $Y$, but $Y$ does not cause $X$).

Primary Prevention

Interventions targeted at the disease-free (normal) phase to prevent disease from occurring by removing causes or providing immunization.

Secondary Prevention

Interventions applied during the preclinical phase to screen for, detect, and treat disease early in order to improve outcomes.

Tertiary Prevention

Clinical phase care aimed at treating clinical disease to slow or stop disease progression, reduce sequelae, and prevent death or complications.

Latent Period

In infectious diseases, the period between initial infection and the point when the host becomes infectious.

Incubation Period

In infectious diseases, the time interval between initial infection and the first appearance of clinical symptoms.

Endemic

The normal or expected frequency of a disease with respect to time, population, and geographic area.

Sporadic

Occasional disease occurrences that are unexpected but do not prompt further cases.

Epidemic

The occurrence of disease in excess of normal expectancy with respect to time, population, and geographic area.

Pandemic

An epidemic occurring on a world-wide scale.

Epidemiologic Triad

A triad framework consisting of the Host (who), Agent (what), and Environment (where), often linked by a Vector.

Attack Rate

The proportion of an at-risk population that became ill during an outbreak, calculated as \frac{\text{\text{\num}} \text{ people who became ill}}{\text{\text{\num}} \text{ people at risk}}.

Attack Rate Ratio

A measure used to indicate the possible source of an outbreak, calculated as $\frac{\text{Attack Rate in exposed group}}{\text{Attack Rate in unexposed group}}$.

Social Determinants of Health

Conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

Lead Time

The interval by which the time of diagnosis is advanced by screening and early detection compared to the usual time of diagnosis.

Sensitivity

The ability of a screening test to correctly identify those who have the disease (True Positive Rate), calculated as $\frac{a}{a+c}$.

Specificity

The ability of a screening test to correctly identify those who do not have the disease (True Negative Rate), calculated as $\frac{d}{b+d}$.

Passive Surveillance

A public health surveillance method where health care providers report outcomes; simple and inexpensive, but limited by incomplete reporting and variable quality.

Active Surveillance

A surveillance method where health agencies actively contact health providers seeking case reports; commonly used during outbreak investigations to identify additional cases.

Point Prevalence

The proportion of a population affected with a given disease or outcome at a specific point in time.

Period Prevalence

The proportion of a population affected with an event or disease at any time during a specified time period.

Cumulative Incidence

The proportion of a population at risk that develops new cases of a disease during a specified period of time, measuring risk.

Incidence Rate

A measure of the speed at which new cases occur, calculated as \frac{\text{\text{\num}} \text{ people who became newly ill}}{\text{Person-time at risk}}.

Case Report

A detailed and thorough record of the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of a single patient presenting an unusual or novel clinical case.

Case Series

A descriptive study summarizing clinical features and outcomes for a group of individuals receiving comparable therapy.

Ecologic Study

A study design in which exposure and outcome are measured at the group level, making the group the unit of analysis.

All Cause Mortality Rate

The frequency of deaths from any cause in a population during a specified period of time.

Cause Specific Mortality Rate

The frequency of deaths due to a specific cause in a population during a specified period of time.

Proportionate Mortality

The percentage or proportion of all deaths in a population that are due to a specific cause.

Case Fatality Rate

The percentage or proportion of people diagnosed with a specific disease who die from that disease during a specified period of time.