Question 1

Which of the following are contributions of epidemiology to environmental health?

Accepted Answer

Epidemiology contributes to environmental health through its focus on populations, reliance on observational data, development of study methodologies, and execution of both descriptive and analytic studies.

Question 2

The Texas Sharpshooter Effect illustrates:

Accepted Answer

The Texas Sharpshooter Effect is a cognitive bias where random data is interpreted as having meaningful patterns, leading to spurious or chance clustering.

Question 3

Environmental health science is concerned with agent, host, and environmental factors in disease (the epidemiologic triangle). Which statement is true about the triangle?

Accepted Answer

All the statements accurately describe the components and concepts of the epidemiologic triangle in environmental health science.

Question 4

Sir Percival Pott, who wrote Chirurgical Observations:

Accepted Answer

Sir Percival Pott was a London surgeon who identified an environmental cause of cancer, specifically linking chimney soot exposure to scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps.

Question 5

Which of the following historical figures was among the first to expound on the role of environmental factors in causing diseases?

Accepted Answer

Hippocrates, often referred to as the "Father of Medicine," was among the first to suggest that environmental factors, such as diet and living conditions, could influence the development of diseases.

Question 6

Prevalence measures aid in:

Accepted Answer

Prevalence measures help in assessing variations in disease occurrence, developing hypotheses, and describing the scope of health problems, but not in determining the risk of disease, which is typically assessed by incidence measures.

Question 7

A national survey of asthma conducted on May 1, 2012, obtained the following results for the state of Oklahoma:
X = The number of residents with asthma
Y = The population of the state on June 30, 2012, and all members of the population were considered at risk
Z = The number of new cases of asthma diagnosed during 2012.
The incidence rate of asthma during 2012 (per 100,000) would be expressed as:

Accepted Answer

The incidence rate is calculated as the number of new cases (Z) divided by the population at risk (Y), multiplied by 100,000 to express it per 100,000 people.

Question 8

What term is normally used to describe the aggregation of relatively uncommon events or diseases?

Accepted Answer

Clustering is the term used to describe the aggregation of relatively uncommon events or diseases, indicating a higher incidence in a particular area or group than would be expected by chance.

Question 9

Which of the following is a study in which the units of analysis are populations or groups of people rather than individuals?

Accepted Answer

Ecologic studies focus on groups or populations as the unit of analysis, examining the relationships between exposure and outcome at the group level rather than the individual level.

Question 10

What type of study design classifies subjects according to their exposure to a factor of interest and then observes them over time to document the occurrence of new cases of disease or other health events?

Accepted Answer

A cohort study classifies subjects based on their exposure status and follows them over time to observe the occurrence of new cases of disease or health events.

Question 11

The use of what measure as a study endpoint has several advantages, including the fact that it may be relevant to agents that have a subtle effect over a long time period?

Accepted Answer

The answer of The use of what measure as a...

Question 12

According to Hill's Criteria of Causality, what criterion suggests that the cause and effect interpretation of our data should not seriously conflict with the generally known facts of the natural history and biology of disease?

Accepted Answer

Coherence suggests that the cause and effect interpretation should not conflict with the known facts of the natural history and biology of the disease.

Question 13

Used in cohort studies, the relative risk is a measure of the strength of association between a possible risk factor and a disease.

Accepted Answer

Relative risk is used in cohort studies to compare the risk of a certain event occurring in two groups, indicating the strength of association between a risk factor and a disease.

Question 14

Cross-sectional studies may be used to formulate hypotheses that can be followed up in analytic studies.

Accepted Answer

Cross-sectional studies can identify associations and generate hypotheses, but they do not establish causality. These hypotheses can then be tested in more rigorous analytic studies.

Question 15

In a case-control study, cases are those who have the outcome of interest and the controls are those who do not.

Accepted Answer

In a case-control study, researchers compare individuals with the outcome of interest (cases) to those without it (controls) to identify factors that may contribute to the outcome.

Question 16

A relative risk of less than 1 means that there is no association between exposure and outcome.

Accepted Answer

A relative risk of less than 1 indicates a negative association, meaning the exposure may be protective against the outcome.

Quiz 2: Environmental Epidemiology