Epidemeology Chapter 1

the occurrence in a community or region of cases of an illness, specific health related behavior, or other health related events clearly in excess of normal expectancy

an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area

is concerned with the distribution and determinants of diseases, morbidity, injuries, disability, and mortality in populations greek epi (upon) + demos (people) + logy (study of)

epidemiology

the occurrence of diseases and other health outcomes varies in populations, with some subgroups of the populations more frequently affected than others

any factor that brings about change in a health condition or other defined characteristic

contact with a disease causing factor or the amount of the factor that impinges upon a group or individuals

all the possible results that may stem from exposure to a casual factor

counting of cases of illness or other health outcomes

the course of disease from its beginning to its clinical endpoint

the time period in the natural history of the disease before a disease agent (bacteria) has interacted with a host (person)

happens after the person has interacted with the host

the prevention of disease before it occurs (stage of prepathogenesis). involves health promotion and specific prevention against diseases

takes place during the early stages of pathogenesis and includes activities that limit the progression of the disease. (programs for cancer screening and other chronic diseases)

later stages of pathogenesis and includes programs for restoring the patients optimal functioning (physical therapy and fitness programs for recovery)

epidemiology uses information from many different fields

epidemiological studies that are concerned with characterizing the amount and distribution of health and disease within a population. etiology of a disease, aim is to prevent disease? Variables used are: 1. person (ex. race, gender, ethnicity, age) 2. place (countries, region in a country) 3. time (decade, year, month, day,)

examines casual (etiologic) hypothesis regarding the association between exposures and health conditions. (take advantage of naturally occurring events in order to test casual hypothesis.)

the naturally occurring events in analytic studies. naturally occurring circumstances in which subsets of the population have different levels of exposure to a supposed casual factor in a situation resembling an actual experiment, where human subjects are randomly assigned to groups. (however usually not random)

(before 500 AD). Was the first to depart from superstitious reasons for disease outbreaks. environmental factors such as water quality and air were causation for disease

middle ages between 1346-1352. hit about 1/3 of the population in europe. from bacterai Yersinia pestis. Bubonic plague. bites of fleas harbored by rats and other rodents spread the disease. kills 60% of victims

(1493-1541). one of the founders of toxicology. (it is used to examine the effects of chemicals found in the environment). Contributions: the dose response relationship

aka columbus of statistics. (1600s) first to employ quantitative methods to describe population vital statistics by organizing mortality data in a mortality table.

the founder of the field of occupational medicine. also studied the manifestations of occupational diseases among many different types of workers

a london surgeon. first to describe an environmental cause of cancer chimney sweepers and scrotal cancer

developed vaccine for smallpox

1800s. Believed that Cholera was transmitted by contaminated water and was able to demonstrate this association. Natural experiment Lambeth Company and the Southwark and Vauxhall Company (cause of disease)

belief that disease was spread by maism or a cloud.

developed a more sophisticated system for codifying medical conditions than that which was previously in use. used census reports to study mortality in england

German physician. verified that a human disease was caused by a specific living organism. identified the cause of Tuberculosis .

spanish flu (1900s). killed 50 to 100 million people globally. about 1/3 of worlds population developed the illness.

discovered penicillin. 1928

describes a shift in patterns of morbidity and morality from causes related primarily to infectious and communicable diseases to causes associated with chronic, degenerative diseases

a shift from high birth rates and death rates found in agrarian societies to much lower birth and death rates in developed countries

a type of study of the placement of health services in a community and the optimum utilization of such services (what services are needed and what services can be discarded)

a method of reducing health care costs by providing integrated care for chronic conditions

the probability that an event will occur

an exposure that is associated with a disease, morbidity, mortality, or other health outcome

methodology in which epidemiologic studies provide quantitative measurements of risks to health