Human Disease Exam Preparation

16 flashcards · Biology · by Amber Cordingley

1. Define epidemiology

   Epidemiology is the study of how often diseases occur in different groups of people and why. The branch of medicine deals with the incidence, distribution and possible control of disease & other factors relating to health

2. Define demography

   The study of statistics such as births, deaths, income or the incidence of disease which illustrate the changing structure of human populations

3. Define incidence

   The occurrence, rate or frequency of a disease

4. Define prevalence

   Prevalence is a statistical concept referring to the number of cases of a disease that are present in a particular population at a given time, whereas incidence refers to the number of new cases that develop in a given period of time.

5. What are the four key processes that drive population change over time? *CHECK*

   Birth Rate % Immigration % Emigration % Death %

6. What does a population pyramid tell us about demographic changes over time?

   A graph showing the distribution of a population by sex, age, etc... It is a graphic profile of the population's residents and illustrates the types of population a place has i.e. is it an ageing pop? What resources might they require etc. The more rectangular the graph, the slower the populn is growing If it is a pyramid shape then it is a reproductive population i.e. most in child bearing years or haven't yet reached that age

7. Different types of epidemiological study:

   case control cohort intervention meta-analysis

8. Cohort study

   A study design where one or more samples (called cohorts) are followed prospectively and subsequent status evaluations with respect to a disease or outcome are conducted to determine which initial participants exposure characteristics (risk factors) are associated with it.

9. Case control

   The case-control design uses a different sampling strategy in which the investigators identify a group of individuals who had developed the disease (the cases) and a comparison of individuals who did not have the disease of interest

10. Meta-analysis

    Meta-analysis is the statistical procedure for combining data from multiple studies. When the treatment effect (or effect size) is consistent from one study to the next,meta-analysis can be used to identify this common effect.

11. Intervention

    Whereas the types of study described so far, including case-control studies, are purely observational in nature (i.e. they only observe what is happening), intervention studies involve intervening with a group of people, and include an equivalent group which acts as a ‘control’. Most pop of this kind is randomised controlled trial

12. Bradford Hill Criteria for Causation

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13. Bacteria vs Viruses

    Bacteria are unicellular, prokaryotic microorganisms that exist in abundance in both living hosts and in all areas of the planet... whereas.... a virus is an acellular thing that requires a host to survive and causes illness in its host leading to an immune response.

14. hallmarks of cancer cells

    invasive and metastatic angiogenic independent of +ve growth factors resistance to apoptosis immortal resistance to -ve growth factors genetic instability

15. what is a carcinogen

    any agent that significantly increases the risk of developing cancer- chemicals infectious agents radiation minerals physiological chronic inflammation

16. what causes cancer

    getting old tobacco smoke things we eat and how much we eat infections hormones occupation alcohol radiation