Deck 6: Problems and Limits of Epidemiology Problems With Studying Humans

Question 1

Which of the following are factors that are associated with the exposure and that may independently affect the risk of developing the disease?

A) Placebos
B) Independent variables
C) Dependent variables
D) Confounding variables

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What type of studies are likely to suffer from a form of bias caused by people dropping out or being untraceable when results are being sought?

A) Prospective studies
B) Case-control studies
C) Retrospective studies
D) Cohort studies

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What type of study is required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before any new drug can be approved for use in the United States?

A) Randomized controlled trial
B) Cohort study
C) Case-control study
D) Prospective study

Answer 3

A

Question 4

All epidemiologic studies have the advantage of studying humans rather than experimental animals.

Question 5

The weaker the relationship between exposure and disease, the larger the group of people that must be studied for the relationship to be evident.

Question 6

Most epidemiologic studies provide clear proof for the cause of disease.

Question 7

A study showing an odds ratio of 40:1 for one possible cause of breast cancer is more likely to have correctly shown cause-and-effect than one showing a 25:1 ratio.

Question 8

Hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women became popular in the 1960s.

Question 9

According to one survey, industry-sponsored research was nearly four times as likely to be favorable to the company's product than NIH-sponsored research.

Question 10

The ultimate goal of many epidemiologic studies is to determine the _______________ of disease.

Question 11

Rules for studies using human subjects came directly from the scandal over abuses in the Tuskegee _______________ study.

Question 12

________________________ occurs if the study group and the control group systematically report differently even if the exposure was the same.

Question 13

Dr. Joseph Mengele was involved in ethical abuses in epidemiology in the country of _______________ .

Question 14

whats the study to the appropriate description.
-Found a 42.7 odds ration from exposure to aspirin during a viral infection

Question 15

whats the study to the appropriate description.
-Found at most a 1.5 relative risk of breast cancer from oral contraceptives

Question 16

whats the study to the appropriate description.
-Led directly to the establishment of rules for the conduct of human experimentation

Question 17

whats the study to the appropriate description.
-Was stopped early on the basis that the risks had been found to outweigh the benefits

Question 18

whats the FDA-approved medication with the associated harmful side effect.
-Risk of suicidal behavior in children and young people

Question 19

whats the FDA-approved medication with the associated harmful side effect.
-Exacerbated asthma attacks in some patients

Question 20

whats the FDA-approved medication with the associated harmful side effect.
-Caused sometimes fatal muscle damage

Question 21

whats the FDA-approved medication with the associated harmful side effect.
-Suspected in increasing the risk of heart attacks

Question 22

Case-control studies that attempt to determine which of the following are especially subject to recall bias?

A) Causes of cancer
B) Cause of heart disease
C) Causes of birth defects
D) Causes of autoimmune disorders

Question 23

Which of the following was used as a treatment for almost any illness by 18^th century physicians?

A) Antibiotics
B) Opiates
C) Bleeding
D) Alcohol

Question 24

What surgical procedure was performed on more than half of all children in the 1930s through the 1950s in the belief that the operation prevented rheumatic fever?

A) Adenoidectomy
B) Tonsillectomy
C) Appendectomy
D) Splenectomy

Question 25

It is unrealistic to expect to succeed at a randomized controlled trial that requires people to alter their behavior over a significant period of time.

Question 26

Epidemiologic evidence is more convincing if there is a known biological explanation for an association between an exposure and a disease.

Question 27

Strong epidemiologic evidence that cigarette smoking was a major case of heart disease existed long before there was any biological evidence.

Question 28

Generally, any U.S. hospital seeking to perform cohort studies will have to establish an in-house institutional review board.

Question 29

The more widely a therapy is already used, the easier it is to do a randomized controlled study.

Question 30

If a hospital will receive more government grants should a study show that a therapy invented at that hospital helps cure AIDS, that hospital would have a conflict of interest in doing such a study.

Question 31

The Women's Health Initiative was a _________________________, the gold standard for epidemiologic studies, and thus was much less likely to be subject to bias.

Question 32

Most epidemiologic studies are ______________________ and have little potential for harm.

Question 33

The value of some studies performed on drug effectiveness began to be questioned in the ______________________.

Question 34

A famous example of a drug company suppressing negative information during the FDA approval process involves the arthritis drug ______________________.

Question 35

Whats the most appropriate description of the terms?
-Systematic error that may be introduced into a study in a number of ways

Question 36

Whats the most appropriate description of the terms?
-Factors that are associated with the exposure and that may independently affect the risk of developing the disease

Question 37

Whats the most appropriate description of the terms?
-A particular problem in choosing subjects for a case-control study

Question 38

Whats the most appropriate description of the terms?
-Occurs if the study group and the control group systematically report differently even if the exposure was the same

Question 39

Whats to the corresponding date of the event?
-The U.S. Public Health Service and scientists from the Tuskegee Institute began similar studies regarding syphilis.

Question 40

Whats to the corresponding date of the event?
-Case-control study found that exposure to high electromagnetic fields from power lines increased the risk of childhood cancer.

Question 41

Whats to the corresponding date of the event?
-Robert Wilson published the best-selling book "feminine forever," which promoted estrogen to relieve the symptoms of menopause.

Question 42

Whats to the corresponding date of the event?
-Tuskegee subjects received antibiotics to treat syphilis.