PH450: Epidemiology Terms
Ratio
Comparison of two quantities
Covariates
Confounding variables and effect modifiers
Fruits and Vegetables
Consumption of fruits and vegetables as a dietary factor.
Prevalence Studies
Cross-sectional studies that assess the prevalence of a health problem in a defined population at one particular time.
National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey
Cross-sectional survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
Cross-sectional survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
Cross-sectional survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
National Hospital Discharge Survey
Cross-sectional survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
National Nursing Home Survey
Cross-sectional survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Attributable Risk
Excess disease risk associated with exposure among those who are exposed.
Exposures and Risk Behaviors
Factors that contribute to health issues, such as nutrition, exercise, immunizations, and substance use.
Quality of the Data
Factors to consider when evaluating data, such as population coverage, completeness, accuracy, and availability.
Epidemiologic measures
Frequency, public health impact, strength of associations
Exposed group
Group of individuals with a specific exposure.
Non-exposed group
Group of individuals without a specific exposure.
Population of Interest
Group of people with a common characteristic
Comparison group
Group usually not exposed used to evaluate disease occurrence in an exposed group.
HIPAA
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which protects the privacy and security of health information.
Natural History of Disease
Incidence and prevalence over time
Data Sources
Information on health status collected by governmental and non-governmental agencies.
Sun Exposure
Level of exposure to sunlight.
Prevalence
Measures existence of current disease
Incidence
Measures occurrence of new disease
Fixed population
Membership is semi-permanent or unchanging
Dynamic population
Membership is transient or open
NCHS
National Center for Health Statistics, a CDC agency that collects and analyzes health data.
NHANES
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which collects survey and clinical data on the U.S. population.
Convenience Sampling
Non-random sampling method based on convenience or availability.
Mortality
Number of deaths in a population.
Prevalence Rate
Number of existing cases per population
Cumulative Incidence
Number of new cases in a specified time period
Incidence Rate
Number of new cases of a disease per unit of person-time.
Incidence rate
Number of new cases of a disease per unit of person-time.
Incidence Rate
Number of new cases per person-time of observation
Rates
Numerator and denominator with units
Proportions/Percentages
Numerator and denominator, dimensionless
Family History of Breast Cancer
Presence of breast cancer in first or second degree relatives.
Point Prevalence
Prevalence at a certain moment in time
Period Prevalence
Prevalence during a specified period of time
Simple Random Sampling
Probability sampling method where each individual has an equal chance of being selected.
Systematic Random Sampling
Probability sampling method where individuals are selected at regular intervals from a list or sequence.
Clustered Sampling
Probability sampling method where the population is divided into clusters and individuals are randomly selected from each cluster.
Stratified Random Sampling
Probability sampling method where the population is divided into strata and individuals are randomly selected from each stratum.
Attributable Proportion
Proportion of disease that would be prevented by eliminating the exposure in the exposed group.
Population Attributable Proportion
Proportion of disease that would be prevented by eliminating the exposure in the total population.
Cumulative incidence
Proportion of individuals who develop a disease over a specified time period.
Prevalence
Proportion of individuals with a disease at a specific point in time.
Age-specific Rate
Rate restricted to specific age group
Risk Ratio
Ratio of disease risk between exposed and non-exposed groups.
Sex ratios
Ratio of males to females
State cancer registries
Registries at the state level that collect information on cancer cases and outcomes.
State trauma registries
Registries at the state level that collect information on traumatic injuries and outcomes.
Outcomes
Results of health conditions, including deaths, illnesses, injuries, and birth defects.
Probability Sampling
Sampling method where each individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected.
Dependent
Severe pulmonary disease, disease/outcome
International / Global
Sources of health data from international organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO).
Measures of Association
Statistical measures used to quantify the relationship between exposure and disease.
Logistic Regression
Statistical method used to control for confounding variables in the analysis.
Chi-Square Test
Statistical test used to determine if there is an association between two variables.
Cross-sectional
Study design assessing exposure and outcome at one moment in time.
Epidemiology
Study of disease occurrence and distribution in populations.
Public Health Surveillance Programs
Systematic collection of information on diseases, risk factors, and health behaviors for monitoring and control.
Prevalence Difference (PD)
The difference in prevalence of a health problem between two groups.
Population
The entire group of individuals being studied.
Odds Ratio (OR)
The likelihood of having a disease in one group compared to another group.
2020 Census
The most recent census that collected information on household composition, demographics, and socioeconomic factors.
Prevalence
The proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific health problem at a given time.
Prevalence Ratio (PR)
The ratio of the prevalence of a health problem in one group compared to another group.
Utilization
The use of healthcare services, including hospitalizations and visits to physicians and emergency departments.
Relative Risk
Another term for risk ratio, quantifies the strength of the relationship between exposure and disease.
Etiological Fraction
Another term for attributable proportion, assesses the effectiveness of prevention/treatment in the exposed group.
Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiological Research (WONDER)
An online database from the CDC that provides access to a wide range of health data.
Parameter
A characteristic of the population being studied.
Statistic
A characteristic of the sample being studied.
Census
A constitutionally mandated count of the U.S. population every 10 years, used for demographic measures.
Birth Certificate
A document that records information about a person's birth, including cause of death for infant mortality statistics.
Death Certificate
A document that records information about a person's death, including cause of death and contributing factors.
NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results
A program that uses cancer registries to monitor cancer trends and guide cancer control programs.
American Community Survey
A sample-based survey conducted between census years to gather socioeconomic information.
Sample
A subset of the population used to represent the entire group.
CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
A survey that collects information on health-related risk factors, chronic conditions, and preventive services.
Health Interview Survey
A survey that collects information on health-related topics, such as dental visits and poverty levels.
CDC National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System
A system that requires reporting of certain diseases to the state and voluntary reporting to the CDC.
AIDS
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
Normal weight
BMI between 18.5 and 24.9, indicating a healthy body weight.
Overweight
BMI between 25.0 and 29.9, indicating higher than normal body weight.
Underweight
BMI less than 18.5, indicating lower than normal body weight.
Obese
BMI of 30.0 or higher, indicating significantly higher than normal body weight.
Crude Rate
Basic rate for the entire population
BMI
Body mass index, a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
Registries
Centralized databases for collecting information about specific diseases, such as cancer.
Vital Statistics
Data on births, deaths, marriages, and divorces, including causes of death and demographic information.
Magnitude and Distribution
Describing the extent and pattern of a health problem in a population.
Risk Difference
Difference in disease risk between exposed and non-exposed groups.
Population Risk Difference
Disease burden associated with exposure among the population.
Absolute Risk
Disease risk in a specific group.
Inference
Drawing conclusions about the population based on the sample data.
Apparent drop in death rates
Due to changes in ICD coding
Independent
Electronic-cigarettes, risk factor/exposure
Study Variables
Variables needed for the study