Deck 6: Study Designs: Ecologic, Cross-Sectional, Case-Control

Question 1

A case-control study is purely a descriptive (as opposed to analytic) study design.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

An ecologic study is one that examines a group as a unit of analysis.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

An ecologic comparison study is sometimes called a cross-sectional ecologic study.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

A cross-sectional study allows measurement of the temporal ordering of cause and effect.

Question 5

In a case-control study, cases and controls are compared in order to determine whether they differ with respect to their exposure levels.

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of exposure data in ecologic studies?

A) Per capita income
B) Mean ambient temperatures
C) Smoking prevalence
D) Per capita calorie intake
E) All are correct.

Question 7

Case-control studies are among the best observational designs to study diseases of:

A) high prevalence.
B) high validity.
C) low case fatality.
D) low prevalence.

Question 8

Examples of descriptive epidemiologic studies do not usually include:

A) cohort studies.
B) counts.
C) case series.
D) cross-sectional studies.

Question 9

What type of study is this?

A) Experimental
B) Case-control
C) Intervention
D) Clinical trial
E) Cohort

Question 10

Does this study have an exposure status variable?

A) No
B) Yes, lifestyle
C) Yes, disease type
D) Yes, sex of patient
E) Insufficient information to answer this question

Question 11

Does this study have a disease status variable?

A) No
B) Yes, lifestyle
C) Yes, cancer
D) Yes, sex of patient
E) Insufficient information to answer the question

Question 12

Which of the following best approximates risk associated with alcohol drinking in men?

A) 2.11
B) 0.92
C) 0.71
D) 0.62
E) 1.37

Question 13

Which of the following best approximates risk associated with alcohol drinking in women?

A) 0.21
B) 1.37
C) 2.11
D) 0.62
E) 0.92

Question 14

Which of the following best approximates risk associated with tea drinking in men?

A) 3.50
B) 1.37
C) 0.71
D) 2.51
E) 0.92

Question 15

Which of the following best approximates risk associated with tea drinking in women?

A) 0.92
B) 1.37
C) 3.50
D) 0.71
E) 3.50

Question 16

Which of the following best approximates risk associated with coffee drinking in men?

A) 0.63
B) 2.11
C) 0.94
D) 1.02
E) 3.50

Question 17

Which of the following best approximates risk associated with coffee drinking in women?

A) 2.11
B) 0.94
C) 3.50
D) 0.63
E) 1.02

Question 18

Which factor has the strongest association with cancer for both men and women?

A) Alcohol consumption
B) Tea drinking
C) Coffee drinking
D) The factors show no variation in the association.
E) Not enough information to determine

Question 19

In case-control studies, the odds ratio is used as an estimate of the relative risk. In order for this approximation to be reasonable, some conditions must be met. Which of the following conditions is not necessary in order to use the odds ratio to estimate the relative risk?

A) With respect to exposure, controls are representative of the population to which you want to generalize your results.
B) The event (disease) under study is rare in the population.
C) The exposure in question is rare in the population.
D) Cases are representative of all cases.

Question 20

Which of the following is true of ecologic studies?

A) They are expensive and require a great deal of time to conduct.
B) They may be affected by the ecologic fallacy.
C) They provide accurate measurements of exposure.
D) They yield results that can be applied directly to individuals.

Question 21

An epidemiologist found five cases of big toe cancer in the Yukon Territory. Because there were only a few cases, the epidemiologist decided to conduct a matched case-control study to determine whether shoe size larger than 9 is a risk factor for big toe cancer. Each case was individually matched to one control for daily activity, history of athlete's foot, and history of ingrown toenails. The following data were gathered:
Shoe size > 9
Compute the proper measure of association. Interpret your results.