Env. Health Chap. 2

16. Which of the following observational designs is used for hypothesis testing? A. Proportionate mortality comparisons B. Cohort studies C. Counts D. Case series E. Cross-sectional studies

Cohort studies

9. Sir Percival Pott, who wrote Chirurgical Observations Relative to A. Was the father of modern biostatistics B. Established postulates for transmission of infectious disease C. Was an English anesthesiologist who used natural experiments D. Argued that the environment was associated with diseases such as malaria E. Was a London surgeon who identified an environmental cause of cancer

Was a London surgeon who identified an environmental cause of cancer

15. Which of the following activities characterizes the epidemiologic approach (as opposed to the clinical approach)? A. Description of a single individual's symptoms B. Study of cancer occurrence in populations C. Treatment of a patient with lung cancer D. Diagnosis of a disease in a single individual E. A, C, D

Study of cancer occurrence in populations

Epidemiology

The branch of medicine that deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health

12. The risk of acquiring a given disease during a time period is best determined by A. The case fatality rate (CFR) from that disease in the 0-4 age group B. A spot map that records all cases of the disease in the past year C. The prevalence for that disease during the past year D. The incidence rate for that disease in a given period of time E. The number of deaths due to that disease during a given year

The incidence rate for that disease in a given period of time

During April, 2009, a Texas community reported 87 cases of H1N1 associated influenza. Ultimately, 9 fatal cases of H1N1 occurred during this same month. There were 4 other fatalities. The CFR associated with H1N1 during April was A. 13/97 times 100 B. 4/9 times 100 C. 9/87 times 100 D. 13/87 times 100 E. 4/87 times 100

9/87 times 100

8. Prevalence measures aid in A. Assessing variations in disease occurrence B. The development of hypotheses C. Determining the risk of disease D. Describing the scope of health problems E. A,B,D

A,B,D (*)

10. The contributions of epidemiology to environmental health include A. Concern with populations B. Use of observational data C. Methodology for study designs D. Descriptive and analytic studies E. All of the above

All of the above

17. Which of the following statements is true about cohort studies? A. Subjects are classified according to their exposure. B. They are a type of longitudinal design. C. They may be either prospective or retrospective. D. The measure of association is called relative risk. E. All of the above

All of the above

Environmental health science is concerned with agent, host, and environmental factors in disease (the epidemiologic triangle). What statement below is true about the triangle? A. Agent factors can include particles, toxic chemicals, and pesticides. B. The environment is the domain in which disease-causing agents may exist. C. The host is the person who affords lodgment of an infectious agent. D. Disease causality includes three major factors\: agent, host, and environment. E. All of the above are true.

All of the above are true.

5. Hill's criteria of causality include: A. Strength B. Consistency C. Temporality D. Biological gradient E. All of the above

All of the above(*)

11. The limitations of environmental epidemiology include the fact that A. Accurate assessment of exposure is difficult. B. Environmentally associated diseases often have low incidence and prevalence. C. Long latency periods often occur between initial exposures and disease outcomes. D. The effects of exposures are often non-specific. E. All of the above.

All of the above.

Cohort study is to risk ratio as: A. Hippocrates is to scrotal cancer. B. Genetics is to environment. C. Case-control study is to odds ratio. D. Sir Percival Pott is to John Snow. E. None of the above

Case-control study is to odds ratio.

Descriptive Epidemiology

Depiction of the occurrence of disease in populations according to classifications by person, place, and time variables

Analytic Epidemiology

Examines causal hypotheses regarding the association between exposures and health conditions

4. Examples of purely observational epidemiologic studies do not usually include A. Experimental studies B. Cohort studies C. Counts D. Case series E. Cross-sectional studies

Experimental studies

Epidemiologic Triangle

Fundamental model of causality used Three major factors; Agent, Host and Environment

6. Identify the historical figure who was among the first to expound on the role of environmental factors in causing diseases: A. Sir Percival Pott B. John Snow C. Hippocrates D. KJ Rothman E. Socrates

Hippocrates

John Snow

Linked a cholera outbreak to contaminated water from the Thames river

Sir Pervical Pott

London Surgeon Thought to be the first individual to describe an environmental cause of cancer

Odds Ratio

Measure of association between exposure and outcome used in a case-control study

Relative Risk

Measure of association used in cohort studies, the ratio of the incidence rate of a disease or health outcome in an exposed group to the incidence rate of the disease or condition in a non exposed group

Natural Experiments

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 would be randomly allocated groups

Natural Experiments

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

Prevalence

Number of existing cases of or deaths from a disease or health condition in a population at some designated time

13. The Texas Sharpshooter Effect A. A new insect pest that is invading the southwest B. A description of disease according to person variables C. A description of disease according to etiologic factors D. One cause of spurious or chance clustering E. None of the above

One cause of spurious or chance clustering

Case Fatality Rate

The number of deaths due to a specific disease within a specified time period divided by the number of cases of that disease during the same time period (times 100)

Incidence

The occurrence of new disease or mortality within a defined period or observation in a specified location

14. Those members of the population who are capable of developing a disease or condition are known as A. Incident cases B. Prevalent cases C. The population at risk D. The immune fraction E. None of the above

The population at risk

Environmental Epidemiology

The study of disease and health conditions that occur in the population and are linked to environmental factors

Latency Period

The time interval between initial exposure to a diseas-causing agent and the appearance of the disease in a host

18. Which of the following statements is untrue about case-control studies? A. Exposure to a factor is determined retrospectively. B. They are a type of longitudinal design. C. The measure of association is the odds ratio. D. Exposure levels may be difficult to quantify precisely. E. They can examine many potential exposures.

They are a type of longitudinal design.

7. John Snow, in Snow on Cholera A. Was the father of modern biostatistics B. Established postulates for transmission of infectious disease C. Was an English anesthesiologist who used natural experiments D. Argued that the environment was associated with diseases such as malaria E. Was a London surgeon who identified an environmental cause of cancer

Was an English anesthesiologist who used natural experiments