PUBLIC HEALTH EPIDEMIOLOGY EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
Case fatality rate - ANSWER-deaths per cases
difficulties of chronic disease studying - ANSWER-rarely about single cases, multiple
causes and risk factors, older people, diseases of "lifestyle"
big focus in US PH
top 5 causes of death in US - ANSWER-1. heart disease
2. cancer
3. chronic lower respiratory disease
4. stroke
5. unintentional risk ?
notifiable diseases - ANSWER-must be reported by doctor to higher level as soon as
diagnosed, ~60
often for infectious diseases, cancer, birth defects-- not chronic diseases, nor is there a
systematic reporting network to locate non-notifiable disease worries
shoe leather epidemiology - ANSWER-field epidemiology/intervention epidemiology:
investigations initiated in response to urgent public health problems and for which team
(mostly local health dept) collects data in field (who, where, when)
Why is Hep A notifiable? - ANSWER-spreads quickly through food and can be
prevented
Legionnaires investigation example - ANSWER-conference at hotel, even those who
didn't go to the ball room got it (airborne?). Biomed research helped to recognize it in
various AC units.
Eosiphilia-Myalgia Syndrome example - ANSWER-doctors report cases to local dept of
the disease that had taken the supplement L-typtoplan. Control group created to isolate
the supplement.
not everyone who took supplement harmed --> differences in susceptibility
epi's usually the ones to detect outbreaks caused by food or other contamination (i.e. oil
in spain)
surveillance--> first stage or warning
, risk factors - ANSWER-factors that play a role in causing a disease--hard to identify for
chronic diseases
Framingham heart study - ANSWER--first major chronic disease study
-prospective cohort study
-finds various risk factors for heart disease
-Framingham offspring study
Doll and Hill study - ANSWER--Lung cancer study in UK
-cohort study
-found links between lung cancer deaths and smoking
Hammond Horn study - ANSWER--lung cancer study in US
-3 year longitudinal study
-corroborated Doll/Hill
case definition - ANSWER-what will be included when using data about cases. Often
requires blood tests, and is especially important for new diseases
incidence rate - ANSWER-rate of new cases of disease in defined population over
period of time
[new cases/disease free population]
notifiable incidence: [reports/population at risk]
good for identifying connection with time
probability a healthy person will get disease
prevalence rate - ANSWER-total number of cases in population at a specific point in
time (i.e. through survey)
usually less useful except with respect to policy
high incidence, low prevalence - ANSWER-if people recover or die quickly
high prevalence, low incidence - ANSWER-chronic disease
mortality rate - ANSWER-death/case
close to incidence if lethal
small if less lethal
useless for non-lethal
distribution: who (descriptive epidemiology) - ANSWER-age, sex, citizenship, drug
users, etc .
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
Case fatality rate - ANSWER-deaths per cases
difficulties of chronic disease studying - ANSWER-rarely about single cases, multiple
causes and risk factors, older people, diseases of "lifestyle"
big focus in US PH
top 5 causes of death in US - ANSWER-1. heart disease
2. cancer
3. chronic lower respiratory disease
4. stroke
5. unintentional risk ?
notifiable diseases - ANSWER-must be reported by doctor to higher level as soon as
diagnosed, ~60
often for infectious diseases, cancer, birth defects-- not chronic diseases, nor is there a
systematic reporting network to locate non-notifiable disease worries
shoe leather epidemiology - ANSWER-field epidemiology/intervention epidemiology:
investigations initiated in response to urgent public health problems and for which team
(mostly local health dept) collects data in field (who, where, when)
Why is Hep A notifiable? - ANSWER-spreads quickly through food and can be
prevented
Legionnaires investigation example - ANSWER-conference at hotel, even those who
didn't go to the ball room got it (airborne?). Biomed research helped to recognize it in
various AC units.
Eosiphilia-Myalgia Syndrome example - ANSWER-doctors report cases to local dept of
the disease that had taken the supplement L-typtoplan. Control group created to isolate
the supplement.
not everyone who took supplement harmed --> differences in susceptibility
epi's usually the ones to detect outbreaks caused by food or other contamination (i.e. oil
in spain)
surveillance--> first stage or warning
, risk factors - ANSWER-factors that play a role in causing a disease--hard to identify for
chronic diseases
Framingham heart study - ANSWER--first major chronic disease study
-prospective cohort study
-finds various risk factors for heart disease
-Framingham offspring study
Doll and Hill study - ANSWER--Lung cancer study in UK
-cohort study
-found links between lung cancer deaths and smoking
Hammond Horn study - ANSWER--lung cancer study in US
-3 year longitudinal study
-corroborated Doll/Hill
case definition - ANSWER-what will be included when using data about cases. Often
requires blood tests, and is especially important for new diseases
incidence rate - ANSWER-rate of new cases of disease in defined population over
period of time
[new cases/disease free population]
notifiable incidence: [reports/population at risk]
good for identifying connection with time
probability a healthy person will get disease
prevalence rate - ANSWER-total number of cases in population at a specific point in
time (i.e. through survey)
usually less useful except with respect to policy
high incidence, low prevalence - ANSWER-if people recover or die quickly
high prevalence, low incidence - ANSWER-chronic disease
mortality rate - ANSWER-death/case
close to incidence if lethal
small if less lethal
useless for non-lethal
distribution: who (descriptive epidemiology) - ANSWER-age, sex, citizenship, drug
users, etc .
