HED 655 - Epidemiology

Describe the concept of "correlation does not equal causation" and the implications for how to interpret relationships between exposure and disease in epidemiological studies.

A relationship between an exposure (climate) and a outcome (death) is not enough to prove one caused the other. You need to rule out alternative explanations.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Confounding & bias

Confounding: in epidemiology, the mixing of effects that occurs when a factor that is associated with the risk factor of interest is itself a risk factor for the health outcome of concern Bias: in epidemiology, a systematic error in the way subjects were selected or information was gathered

What are the goals of descriptive epidemiology? Observational studies in epidemiology? What are measured in each?

Descriptive epidemiology: Goal is to describe patterns of disease in populations. Raises questions but does not try to identify causes. Useful in prioritizing resources and identifying new trends and disease of concern Observational studies: Rather than observing the human population as a whole, observational and experimental studies - categorize people into groups, determine the cause(s) of disease.

Observational studies

a type of epidemiological study, used to evaluate associations between risk factors and health outcomes in which the researcher does not manipulate exposures but rather observes and documents exposures and outcomes

Community driven research

an approach to environmental health research that features genuine participation by those affected by the research, equitable power sharing between community and researchers, and an emphasis on practical solutions

Latency

cancer latency: the period between the exposure that initiates a malignant tumor and the recognition of the cancer

Surveillance

the tracking of disease or injury rates and the comparison of rates over time or across places or diseases; a type of descriptive epidemiology

Correlation vs causation

correlation the relationship between things that happen or change together positive correlation A relationship between two variables in which both variables move in together in the same direction. A positive correlation exists when as one variable decreases, the other variable also decreases and when it increases the other variable increases. negative correlation A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other decreases, or when one variable decreases the other increases. Causation the act or process of causing something to happen or exist

Descriptive epidemiology

epidemiology using a study design intended to describe patterns of disease rather than link risk factors to health outcomes