Diagnostic Screening and Epidemiology

Flashcards covering key concepts related to diagnostic screening and epidemiology.

Two by Two Table

A tool used to assess the association between two discrete variables or to evaluate the validity and reliability of diagnostic screening tools.

Exposure Variable

A variable in epidemiology believed to cause or influence an outcome, such as a risk factor.

Outcome Variable

The dependent variable in epidemiology, often representing an illness, disease, disorder, or death.

Categorical Variables

Variables where individuals fall into discrete groups, including nominal and ordinal variables.

Continuous Variables

Variables that can take on any value along a continuum, such as blood pressure or cholesterol levels.

Sensitivity

The ability of a test to correctly identify those who have the disease.

Specificity

The ability of a test to correctly identify those who do not have the disease.

Validity

The degree to which a test measures what it is intended to measure.

Reliability

The ability of a test to produce consistent results over repeated administrations.

True Positive

A test result indicating that a person has the disease when they actually do.

False Positive

A test result indicating that a person has the disease when they do not.

False Negative

A test result indicating that a person does not have the disease when they actually do.

True Negative

A test result indicating that a person does not have the disease when they do not.

Positive Predictive Value

The proportion of true positives among all positive test results.

Negative Predictive Value

The proportion of true negatives among all negative test results.

Intrasubject Variation

Variability in measurements of the same individual over time.

Intraobserver Variation

Variability in measurements caused by the same observer making different observations.

Interobserver Variation

Variability in measurements across different observers analyzing the same data.

Bimodal Distribution

A distribution that has two different peaks, indicating the presence of two different groups within the data.

Unimodal Distribution

A distribution that has one peak, indicating a single group within the data.