EPIB301 STUDY GUIDE EXAM QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
2025/2026 GRADED A+
Which of the following fields contribute to epidemiology?
virology
Psychology
demography
biostatistics - all the above
what is the purpose of disease surveillance?
obtain a baseline level of disease occurrence in a population
diagnose disease in individuals
identify peaks in disease occurrence
provide individuals with health services - obtain a baseline level of disease occurrence
in a population
identify peaks in disease occurence
which of the following may be an epidemiologic population?
all individuals living in the united states
students living in dorms at UMD
alaskan residents counted in the US census
total patients at boston childrens hospital - all the above
the historical shift from high birth and death rates to lower birth and death rates, causing
a shift in the demographics of the population is known as:
the epidemiologic transition
the course theory
the stress hypothesis
the demographic transition - the demographic transition
which of the following variables depend on an individuals environment?
age
access to healthy food
race
air pollution
availability to playgrounds and parks - access to healthy food
air pollution
availability to playgrounds and parks
for a chronic disease of low incidence and long duration, the prevalence of the disease
increases overtime relative to the incidence.
T/F - True
Successful treatment programs that would shorten the duration of a disease primarily
affect:
Both the incidence and the prevalence of the disease.
,the incidence of the disease
the prevalence of the disease
neither the incidence nor the prevalence of the disease - the prevalence of the disease
the incidence of a disease is five times greater in men than in women, but the
prevalence shows no sex difference. the most likely explanation is that:
the mortality rate is greater in women
the duration of the disease is greater in women
women receive less adequate medical care for the disease
the case fatality rate is greater in women - the duration of the disease is greater in
women
a major disadvantage of crude rates is that:
they do not permit comparison of populations that differ in size
all of the responses listed for this question are true
they are difficult to calculate from available data sources
they do not permit comparison of populations that vary in comparison - they do not
permit comparison of populations that vary in composition
Blood pressure measurements on adult males 30-39 years of age were obtained in a
survey of a representative sample of twin cities households. to compare the frequency
of hypertension in the white and non-white population surveyed, the most appropriate
measure is the....
race specific incidence rate
race-specific age-adjusted prevalence
prevalence
race-specific prevalence
incidence rate - race-specific age-adjusted prevalence
This rate can be used to compare different age groups in the same population. - age-
specific rate
this rate is used for quick comparison of two or more populations which have different
age distributions - age-adjusted rate
this rate can be used for a single value for an entire population with no statistical
adjustment - crude rate
the result of a statistical procedure that makes rate comparison more "fair" - age-
adjusted rate
a researcher wants to determine the incidence of COVID diaganoses among individuals
aged 65-80 years in maryland. what kind of rate is this? - age-specific rate
, a researcher wants to compare the incidence rates of COVID-19 in New York and
Florida without the potential confounding effect of age. What kind of rate is this? - age-
adjusted rate
Which of the following are benefits of cross-sectional studies (compared to most other
study designs)?
Usually inexpensive/cheap to conduct
Use easily-available group-level data
Cab be used to establish causality between exposure and outcome
Good for gathering evidence for future, more resource-intensive research - Usually
inexpensive/cheap to conduct
Good for gathering evidence for future, more resource-intensive research
A cross-sectional study allows measurement of the temporal ordering of cause and
effect.
True/False - False
Case-control studies are among the best observational designs to study diseases of:
high prevalence
high validity
low prevalence
low validity - low prevalence
Which of the following is not an analytic study?
cohort study
case-control study
case series
ecologic study - case series
Case series are exclusively descriptive studies
Cohort, case-control, and ecologic studies are all analytic
An ecologic study is one that examines a group as a unit of analysis.
True/False - True
In a case-control study, cases and controls are selected based on their exposure status.
True/False - False
Case-control study participants are selected based on their outcome status
The National Health Interview Survey collects data from approximately 30,000
randomly-selected households in the US each year, collecting information on many
health topics in a questionnaire and/or interview (the households are not followed over
time). This information is used for both surveillance and research purposes.
What study design can this be classified as?
Experimental study
cohort study
cross-sectional study
2025/2026 GRADED A+
Which of the following fields contribute to epidemiology?
virology
Psychology
demography
biostatistics - all the above
what is the purpose of disease surveillance?
obtain a baseline level of disease occurrence in a population
diagnose disease in individuals
identify peaks in disease occurrence
provide individuals with health services - obtain a baseline level of disease occurrence
in a population
identify peaks in disease occurence
which of the following may be an epidemiologic population?
all individuals living in the united states
students living in dorms at UMD
alaskan residents counted in the US census
total patients at boston childrens hospital - all the above
the historical shift from high birth and death rates to lower birth and death rates, causing
a shift in the demographics of the population is known as:
the epidemiologic transition
the course theory
the stress hypothesis
the demographic transition - the demographic transition
which of the following variables depend on an individuals environment?
age
access to healthy food
race
air pollution
availability to playgrounds and parks - access to healthy food
air pollution
availability to playgrounds and parks
for a chronic disease of low incidence and long duration, the prevalence of the disease
increases overtime relative to the incidence.
T/F - True
Successful treatment programs that would shorten the duration of a disease primarily
affect:
Both the incidence and the prevalence of the disease.
,the incidence of the disease
the prevalence of the disease
neither the incidence nor the prevalence of the disease - the prevalence of the disease
the incidence of a disease is five times greater in men than in women, but the
prevalence shows no sex difference. the most likely explanation is that:
the mortality rate is greater in women
the duration of the disease is greater in women
women receive less adequate medical care for the disease
the case fatality rate is greater in women - the duration of the disease is greater in
women
a major disadvantage of crude rates is that:
they do not permit comparison of populations that differ in size
all of the responses listed for this question are true
they are difficult to calculate from available data sources
they do not permit comparison of populations that vary in comparison - they do not
permit comparison of populations that vary in composition
Blood pressure measurements on adult males 30-39 years of age were obtained in a
survey of a representative sample of twin cities households. to compare the frequency
of hypertension in the white and non-white population surveyed, the most appropriate
measure is the....
race specific incidence rate
race-specific age-adjusted prevalence
prevalence
race-specific prevalence
incidence rate - race-specific age-adjusted prevalence
This rate can be used to compare different age groups in the same population. - age-
specific rate
this rate is used for quick comparison of two or more populations which have different
age distributions - age-adjusted rate
this rate can be used for a single value for an entire population with no statistical
adjustment - crude rate
the result of a statistical procedure that makes rate comparison more "fair" - age-
adjusted rate
a researcher wants to determine the incidence of COVID diaganoses among individuals
aged 65-80 years in maryland. what kind of rate is this? - age-specific rate
, a researcher wants to compare the incidence rates of COVID-19 in New York and
Florida without the potential confounding effect of age. What kind of rate is this? - age-
adjusted rate
Which of the following are benefits of cross-sectional studies (compared to most other
study designs)?
Usually inexpensive/cheap to conduct
Use easily-available group-level data
Cab be used to establish causality between exposure and outcome
Good for gathering evidence for future, more resource-intensive research - Usually
inexpensive/cheap to conduct
Good for gathering evidence for future, more resource-intensive research
A cross-sectional study allows measurement of the temporal ordering of cause and
effect.
True/False - False
Case-control studies are among the best observational designs to study diseases of:
high prevalence
high validity
low prevalence
low validity - low prevalence
Which of the following is not an analytic study?
cohort study
case-control study
case series
ecologic study - case series
Case series are exclusively descriptive studies
Cohort, case-control, and ecologic studies are all analytic
An ecologic study is one that examines a group as a unit of analysis.
True/False - True
In a case-control study, cases and controls are selected based on their exposure status.
True/False - False
Case-control study participants are selected based on their outcome status
The National Health Interview Survey collects data from approximately 30,000
randomly-selected households in the US each year, collecting information on many
health topics in a questionnaire and/or interview (the households are not followed over
time). This information is used for both surveillance and research purposes.
What study design can this be classified as?
Experimental study
cohort study
cross-sectional study
