Deck 5: Descriptive Epidemiology

Question 1

Which personal characteristic available for descriptive epidemiology is probably the most important because it is associated with striking changes in disease rates?

A) Age
B) Race
C) Gender
D) Socioeconomic status

Answer 1

Age

Question 2

Which type of studies are one of the ways that epidemiologists investigate the effect of place on disease occurrence?

A) Cohort studies
B) Migrant studies
C) Case-control studies
D) Longitudinal studies

Answer 2

Migrant studies

Question 3

The hallmark of which of the following is the occurrence of cases of disease close together in space, time, or both space and time?

A) Disease outbreak
B) Disease cluster
C) Disease transmission
D) Disease progression

Answer 3

Disease cluster

Question 4

The epidemic graph cycling through progressively taller peaks that are often one incubation apart is characteristic of which of the following?

A) Point source outbreak
B) Continuous common source outbreak
C) Propagated outbreak
D) Disease cluster

Question 5

Which of the following measures is considered a sensitive indicator of the overall health of a population?

A) Incidence rate
B) Life expectancy
C) Infant mortality rate
D) Disability-adjusted life years

Question 6

Because which type of data is completely reported for the entire country, it can be used to study fatal illnesses on a national, state, city, or neighborhood level?

A) Natality data
B) Morbidity data
C) Mortality data
D) Incidence data

Question 7

The dramatic reduction in children's blood levels of which substance has been hailed as "one of the most remarkable public health achievements" and is the result of a concerted governmental action over several decades?

A) Iron
B) Glucose
C) Lead
D) Arsenic

Question 8

Analysis of the changes in disease and death rates over calendar time provides epidemiologists with useful information for causal research and public health planning and evaluation.

Question 9

Though infectious diseases are most common, outbreaks may also be from noninfectious causes.

Question 10

The shape of an outbreak curve can be used to make inferences about an outbreak's most likely mode of transmission.

Question 11

One of the earliest associations between which of the following and disease was observed almost 200 years ago by Dr. Percivall Pott, who noted that London chimney sweeps had a high rate of scrotal cancer?

A) Race
B) Gender
C) Occupation
D) Socioeconomic status

Question 12

Tay-Sachs disease, a degenerative disease of the brain and nervous system, is an example of how which of the following can influence disease rates?

A) Age
B) Gender
C) Occupation
D) Religious affiliation

Question 13

Internet surveillance has contributed to the early identification of which of the following, including searches of global media sources such as news wires?

A) Disease outbreaks
B) Disease clusters
C) Disease transmission
D) Disease progression

Question 14

Which of the following provide information on the ultimate effect of a disease?

A) Natality data
B) Morbidity data
C) Mortality data
D) Incidence data

Question 15

Which of the following along with state and local surveillance programs serve as the primary data sources on the descriptive epidemiology of elevated blood lead levels among U.S. children?

A) National Survey of Family Growth
B) National Health Interview Survey
C) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
D) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Question 16

The most marked declines in HIV diagnoses from 2005 to 2014 occurred in which patient population?

A) Women
B) Homosexuals
C) Heterosexuals
D) Intravenous drug users

Question 17

Like other types of cancer, a malignancy in the breast is thought to develop through a multistage process known as carcinogenesis. Which of the following represents the first step in this process?

A) Initiation
B) Promotion
C) Progression
D) Mutation

Question 18

The frequency of most diseases decreases with age.

Question 19

In the 2010 U.S. Census, "Some Other Race" represented the third largest race group primarily because almost half of Hispanic or Latino respondents do not identify within any of the racial categories as defined in the U.S. Census.

Question 20

If the rate of disease among migrants approaches that of the host country, epidemiologists hypothesize that environmental factors may cause the disease.