HOSA EPIDEMIOLOGY EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO
PASS IN THIS EXAM
Descriptive Epidemiology - ANS-deals with the frequency and the distribution of risk
factors in populations and enables to assess the extent of a disease. It can thus provide
hypotheses of etiologic research
Analytical Epidemiology - ANS-aims to research and study risk and protector factors of
diseases.
Pandemic - ANS-An epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing
international boundaries, and usually affecting a large number of people.
Ex.. 1918 influenza (Spanish flu)
Distribution - ANS-The occurrence of diseases and other health outcomes varies in
populations, with some subgroups of the populations more frequently affected than
others.
Epidemic - ANS-sudden increase in occurrence of disease in a population
usually within a specific geographic region or population
Exposures - ANS-Related to determinants,which pertain either to contact with a
disease-causing factor or to the amount of the factor that impinges upon a group or
individuals.
Determinants - ANS-determinants Any factor that brings about change in a health
condition or other defined characteristic.
Morbidity - ANS-illness due to a specific disease or health condition
Mortality - ANS-Death, usually on a large scale
Quanification - ANS-Refers to counting the cases of illness or other health outcomes.
Denotes the use of statistics to describe the occurrence of health outcomes and
measure their association with exposures
Hippocrates - ANS-departed from superstitious reasons for disease outbreaks Wrote On
Airs, Waters, and Places in 400 BC
Suggested disease might be associated with environmental factors
John Snow - ANS-(1813-1858)An English anesthesiologist who innovated several of the
key epidemiologic methods that remain valid and in use today
Believed that cholera was transmitted by contaminated water and was able to
demonstrate this association.
,Paracelsus - ANS-(1493-1541) was one of the founders of the field of toxicology.
The dose-response relationship
The notion of target organ specificity of chemicals
John Graunt - ANS-is considered by many historians to have founded the science of
demography, the statistical study of human populations. He analyzed the vital statistics
of the citizens of London and wrote a book regarding those figures that greatly
influenced the demographers of his day.
Ramazzini - ANS-(1633-1714) is regarded as the founder of the field of occupational
medicine.
He authored De Morbis Artificum Diatriba (Diseases of Workers), published in 1700.
Edward Jenner - ANS-(1749-1823) developed a method for smallpox vaccination in
1796.
William Farr - ANS-(1807-1883)Appointed "Compiler of Abstracts" in England, 1839
Developed a more sophisticated system for codifying medical conditions
Examined possible linkage between mortality rates and population density (defined as
number of persons per square mile)
Robert Koch - ANS-(1843-1910), a German physician
Published Die Aetiologie der Tuberkulose in 1882
Koch's postulates demonstrated the association between a microorganism and a
disease.
Alexander Flemming - ANS-(1881-1955) discovered the anti-microbial properties of the
mold Penicillium notatum in 1928.
Antibiotic became available toward the end of World War II
carrier - ANS-individual - potential source of infection for others
can be infected or transferring from infected person to another
etiologic agent - ANS-etiologic agent pathogen responsible for diseas
reservoir - ANS-primary habitat which the agent is normally found and from which
infection may result
vector - ANS-living transmitters of pathogen
vehicle - ANS-non-living transmitters
sporadic - ANS-disease occurs at irregular intervals and in unpredictable locations
,endemic - ANS-maintained at steady frequency over long period in a particular
population or geographic location
direct horizontal transmission - ANS-person to person (shaking hands, kissing)
self to self (direct fecal-oral- not washing hands)
direct vertical transmission - ANS-parent to child (sperm, egg, across placenta, breast
feeding, birth canal)
indirect vehicle of transmission - ANS-
waterborne vehicle - ANS-generally do not grow, but can survive in contaminated or
inadequately treated or untreated water
airborne - ANS-pathogen travels through air
foodborne - ANS-
fomite - ANS-non-living object
harbors and transmits an infectious agent
active transmission - ANS-
passive transmisstion - ANS-
Pathology - ANS-Study of diseases
Bias - ANS-A flaw in either the study, design, or data analysis that leads to an
erroneous result.
Case Fatality Rate (CFR) - ANS-A mathematical quantity that describes the severity of
a disease; usually applied to acute diseases. It is the proportion of persons diagnosed
with a disease who actually die from the disease during the period of observation.
CFR Formula - ANS-# dying from disease Y in population P
--------------------------------
# with disease Y in population P
Comparison of Rates - ANS-A measure of incidence or occurrence of a disease in a
population.
Rate Difference Formula - ANS-(rate of disease Y among those exposed to X) - (rate of
disease Y among those NOT exposed to X)
Relative Risk Formula - ANS-Rate of Y among those exposed to X
----------------------------------
, Rate of Y among those NOT exposed to X
Incidence Formula - ANS-# develop disease Y in pop. P in time T
--------------------------------
# in pop. P
Precision - ANS-Refers to the degree to which there is variation in a measurement.
Accuracy - ANS-Refers to the degree to which the measurement is, on average, correct.
Population Controls - ANS-Serve as the references against which cases are compared.
Mortality - ANS-Refers to death; death rates.
Morbidity - ANS-used to refer to illness; rates of illness.
Exposure - ANS-Generic term for the effective presence of any agent or factor that is
thought to cause a disease.
Ex: toxic chemical, dietary habits, activity levels, microorganisms.
Endemic - ANS-Baseline incidence rate in a pop; at ay point in time, people are
acquiring a given disease in the pop.
Ex: flu rate
Epidemic - ANS-A greater incidence of the disease in a pop. than would normally have
been expected; greater than endemic or baseline incidence.
Disease Transmission - ANS-Describes the process of the spreading of a disease
through a population;
"Who got it & how did it spread?"
Contingency Table - ANS-Often used to show the relationship between disease and
exposure; used to divide persons into the categories of diseased & exposed (A),
diseased & NOT exposed (B), NOT diseased & exposed (C), NOT disease & NOT
exposed (D).
Contingency Table Example - ANS-Exposure
| | YES | NO |
Disease| YES | A | B |
| NO | C | D |
Confounding - ANS-A "mixing of effects;" When a factor (X) causes disease (Y), that
relationship could be confounded by a factor (C), that is associated with both X & Y.
C could also be an alternative explanation for the relationship between X & Y.
PASS IN THIS EXAM
Descriptive Epidemiology - ANS-deals with the frequency and the distribution of risk
factors in populations and enables to assess the extent of a disease. It can thus provide
hypotheses of etiologic research
Analytical Epidemiology - ANS-aims to research and study risk and protector factors of
diseases.
Pandemic - ANS-An epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing
international boundaries, and usually affecting a large number of people.
Ex.. 1918 influenza (Spanish flu)
Distribution - ANS-The occurrence of diseases and other health outcomes varies in
populations, with some subgroups of the populations more frequently affected than
others.
Epidemic - ANS-sudden increase in occurrence of disease in a population
usually within a specific geographic region or population
Exposures - ANS-Related to determinants,which pertain either to contact with a
disease-causing factor or to the amount of the factor that impinges upon a group or
individuals.
Determinants - ANS-determinants Any factor that brings about change in a health
condition or other defined characteristic.
Morbidity - ANS-illness due to a specific disease or health condition
Mortality - ANS-Death, usually on a large scale
Quanification - ANS-Refers to counting the cases of illness or other health outcomes.
Denotes the use of statistics to describe the occurrence of health outcomes and
measure their association with exposures
Hippocrates - ANS-departed from superstitious reasons for disease outbreaks Wrote On
Airs, Waters, and Places in 400 BC
Suggested disease might be associated with environmental factors
John Snow - ANS-(1813-1858)An English anesthesiologist who innovated several of the
key epidemiologic methods that remain valid and in use today
Believed that cholera was transmitted by contaminated water and was able to
demonstrate this association.
,Paracelsus - ANS-(1493-1541) was one of the founders of the field of toxicology.
The dose-response relationship
The notion of target organ specificity of chemicals
John Graunt - ANS-is considered by many historians to have founded the science of
demography, the statistical study of human populations. He analyzed the vital statistics
of the citizens of London and wrote a book regarding those figures that greatly
influenced the demographers of his day.
Ramazzini - ANS-(1633-1714) is regarded as the founder of the field of occupational
medicine.
He authored De Morbis Artificum Diatriba (Diseases of Workers), published in 1700.
Edward Jenner - ANS-(1749-1823) developed a method for smallpox vaccination in
1796.
William Farr - ANS-(1807-1883)Appointed "Compiler of Abstracts" in England, 1839
Developed a more sophisticated system for codifying medical conditions
Examined possible linkage between mortality rates and population density (defined as
number of persons per square mile)
Robert Koch - ANS-(1843-1910), a German physician
Published Die Aetiologie der Tuberkulose in 1882
Koch's postulates demonstrated the association between a microorganism and a
disease.
Alexander Flemming - ANS-(1881-1955) discovered the anti-microbial properties of the
mold Penicillium notatum in 1928.
Antibiotic became available toward the end of World War II
carrier - ANS-individual - potential source of infection for others
can be infected or transferring from infected person to another
etiologic agent - ANS-etiologic agent pathogen responsible for diseas
reservoir - ANS-primary habitat which the agent is normally found and from which
infection may result
vector - ANS-living transmitters of pathogen
vehicle - ANS-non-living transmitters
sporadic - ANS-disease occurs at irregular intervals and in unpredictable locations
,endemic - ANS-maintained at steady frequency over long period in a particular
population or geographic location
direct horizontal transmission - ANS-person to person (shaking hands, kissing)
self to self (direct fecal-oral- not washing hands)
direct vertical transmission - ANS-parent to child (sperm, egg, across placenta, breast
feeding, birth canal)
indirect vehicle of transmission - ANS-
waterborne vehicle - ANS-generally do not grow, but can survive in contaminated or
inadequately treated or untreated water
airborne - ANS-pathogen travels through air
foodborne - ANS-
fomite - ANS-non-living object
harbors and transmits an infectious agent
active transmission - ANS-
passive transmisstion - ANS-
Pathology - ANS-Study of diseases
Bias - ANS-A flaw in either the study, design, or data analysis that leads to an
erroneous result.
Case Fatality Rate (CFR) - ANS-A mathematical quantity that describes the severity of
a disease; usually applied to acute diseases. It is the proportion of persons diagnosed
with a disease who actually die from the disease during the period of observation.
CFR Formula - ANS-# dying from disease Y in population P
--------------------------------
# with disease Y in population P
Comparison of Rates - ANS-A measure of incidence or occurrence of a disease in a
population.
Rate Difference Formula - ANS-(rate of disease Y among those exposed to X) - (rate of
disease Y among those NOT exposed to X)
Relative Risk Formula - ANS-Rate of Y among those exposed to X
----------------------------------
, Rate of Y among those NOT exposed to X
Incidence Formula - ANS-# develop disease Y in pop. P in time T
--------------------------------
# in pop. P
Precision - ANS-Refers to the degree to which there is variation in a measurement.
Accuracy - ANS-Refers to the degree to which the measurement is, on average, correct.
Population Controls - ANS-Serve as the references against which cases are compared.
Mortality - ANS-Refers to death; death rates.
Morbidity - ANS-used to refer to illness; rates of illness.
Exposure - ANS-Generic term for the effective presence of any agent or factor that is
thought to cause a disease.
Ex: toxic chemical, dietary habits, activity levels, microorganisms.
Endemic - ANS-Baseline incidence rate in a pop; at ay point in time, people are
acquiring a given disease in the pop.
Ex: flu rate
Epidemic - ANS-A greater incidence of the disease in a pop. than would normally have
been expected; greater than endemic or baseline incidence.
Disease Transmission - ANS-Describes the process of the spreading of a disease
through a population;
"Who got it & how did it spread?"
Contingency Table - ANS-Often used to show the relationship between disease and
exposure; used to divide persons into the categories of diseased & exposed (A),
diseased & NOT exposed (B), NOT diseased & exposed (C), NOT disease & NOT
exposed (D).
Contingency Table Example - ANS-Exposure
| | YES | NO |
Disease| YES | A | B |
| NO | C | D |
Confounding - ANS-A "mixing of effects;" When a factor (X) causes disease (Y), that
relationship could be confounded by a factor (C), that is associated with both X & Y.
C could also be an alternative explanation for the relationship between X & Y.
