Deck 5: Principles of Epidemiology

Question 1

The study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states and events in specified populations and the application of this study to the control of health problems is known as

A) morbidity.
B) ecology.
C) epidemiology.
D) vital statistics.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In the Seven Countries Study,subjects from Finland reported the lowest percentage of calories from saturated fat,but had the highest serum cholesterol levels.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Some of the leading risk factors for heart disease include cigarette smoking,physical inactivity,male gender,and obesity.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The primary method of assessing the available food supply at the national level is based on household food consumption data.

Question 5

The epidemiological method was initially used to investigate,control,and prevent epidemics of

A) social problems.
B) chronic diseases.
C) infectious diseases.
D) acute illnesses.

Question 6

In the 1990s epidemiological studies established that women could reduce their risk of bearing a child with a neural tube birth defect by increasing their intake of folic acid.

Question 7

It is unrealistic to expect total agreement among the results of epidemiological or clinical studies due to genetic,environmental,and/or social factors.

Question 8

Data collected from food balance sheets can be used to formulate agricultural policies concerned with food production and consumption.

Question 9

Which of the following statements regarding fetal alcohol syndrome is incorrect?

A) The rate of any alcohol use during pregnancy declined between 1995 and 2005.
B) Fetal alcohol syndrome is 100% preventable.
C) The rate of binge drinking during pregnancy declined between 1995 and 2005.
D) All of these statements are true.

Question 10

A randomized trial conducted as a double-blind experiment is the most rigorous evaluation of a dietary hypothesis.

Question 11

Maternal mortality rate is based on the number of pregnancy-rated deaths as compared to the number of live births in the same year.

Question 12

Today,nutritional epidemiology is primarily concerned with major,chronic diseases associated with the Western diet.

Question 13

Environmental factors included as determinants of disease in epidemiology include all of the following except

A) geographical location.
B) occupation.
C) living conditions.
D) nutrition status.

Question 14

One challenge in studying the relationship of diet to disease is the complexity of our diets.

Question 15

Food balance sheets measure the food actually ingested by a population.

Question 16

The day-to-day variation in an individual's nutrient intake is called within-person variation.

Question 17

Fetal death rate is the same as the infant mortality rate.

Question 18

Epidemiology differs from clinical medicine and laboratory science because of its focus on

A) populations.
B) determinants.
C) individuals.
D) diagnosis.

Question 19

A retrospective cohort study is one that follows a group into the future.

Question 20

In planning an experimental trial,the investigator identifies a cause-effect comparison to be tested as a research hypothesis.

Question 21

In a _____ study,a group of persons or cases with the disease or condition of interest is compared with a group of persons without the disease or condition.

A) case-control
B) cohort
C) correlational
D) cross-sectional

Question 22

_____ bias is the presence of another variable that accounts for the observation.

A) Confounding
B) Measurement
C) Selection
D) Control

Question 23

What is the most typical way in which epidemiologists work toward controlling and preventing health problems?

A) Development of interventions to alter lifestyles
B) Formulation of health policies
C) Recommendations for environmental changes
D) Development of media campaigns

Question 24

The most appropriate use of a correlational study is

A) generating hypotheses.
B) drawing conclusions.
C) changing public policy.
D) validating previous studies.

Question 25

Obtaining vital statistics regarding health and nutrition status from the WHO is an example of which phase of the epidemiologic model?

A) Counting cases or events
B) Developing a hypothesis
C) Making comparisons
D) Relating cases or events to the population at risk

Question 26

In epidemiological studies,when should the hypotheses be formulated?

A) After the experimental research data have been collected
B) Retrospectively
C) After the experimental research data have been analyzed
D) At the outset of the study

Question 27

The most rigorous evaluation of a dietary hypothesis is the

A) case-control study.
B) randomized controlled trial.
C) cohort study.
D) cross-sectional study.

Question 28

Which of the phases of the epidemiologic method is illustrated in this statement?
"Many years of investigation have shown that atherosclerosis can be induced in laboratory animals by feeding them a diet rich in fats and cholesterol."

A) Counting cases or events
B) Making comparisons
C) Observing
D) Relating cases to the at risk population

Question 29

_____ studies examine the relationships among dietary intake,diseases,and other variables as they exist in a population at a particular time.

A) Cohort
B) Correlational
C) Cross-sectional
D) Observational

Question 30

_____ refers to the fraction or proportion of a group having a disease or condition at a specific time.

A) Incidence
B) Prevalence
C) Specificity
D) Selectivity

Question 31

Which of the following occurs first in the epidemiological method?

A) Making comparisons
B) Developing the hypothesis
C) Observing
D) Counting cases or events

Question 32

A single 24-hour dietary recall

A) is often considered the best method of assessing dietary intake.
B) uses a questionnaire including all important population-specific food sources of the nutrients under investigation.
C) requires the subject to make judgments about their usual food habits.
D) may not give an adequate picture of a specific individual's usual intake.

Question 33

_____ studies compare the frequency of events (or disease rates)in different populations.

A) Correlational
B) Cohort
C) Cause and effect
D) Cross-sectional

Question 34

The incidence rate can be determined by _____ studies.

A) incidence
B) cross-sectional
C) nutritional
D) cohort

Question 35

The relative risk of lung cancer in people with low fruit and vegetable intake compared to those with high intake is about 2.0.This means that the people with

A) low fruit/vegetable intake were at twice the risk of developing cancer.
B) high fruit/vegetable intake were at twice the risk of developing cancer.
C) low fruit/vegetable intake were at no risk of developing cancer.
D) high fruit/vegetable intake were at no risk of developing cancer.

Question 36

Nutritional epidemiology

A) has been an area of study for centuries.
B) has always focused on the role of chronic diseases of the so-called Western diet.
C) continues to focus on deficiency diseases.
D) evidence shows that a relatively few risk factors play a key role in the development of chronic disease.

Question 37

Figures pertaining to life events,such as births,deaths,and marriages,are known as

A) cohorts.
B) vital statistics.
C) risk factors.
D) statistical inferences.

Question 38

Which of the following are not risk factors for heart disease?

A) High HDL cholesterol, low LDL cholesterol
B) High blood pressure, diabetes
C) Physical inactivity, male gender
D) Smoking, obesity

Question 39

In epidemiological terms,smoking cigarettes would be an example of a(n)_____ risk factor.

A) behavioral
B) inherited
C) physical
D) environmental

Question 40

_____ bias may occur if study participants were self-selected or not randomly assigned.

A) Confounding
B) Measurement
C) Sample
D) Selection

Question 41

The _____ method of assessing intake is time consuming,and the results may not be accurate if subjects modify their eating habits during the time of the study.

A) twenty-four hour recall
B) food record
C) food frequency
D) diet history

Question 42

List the steps of the scientific method in order.

Question 43

Methods of assessing household food consumption include which of the following?

A) Records of food wasted, spoiled, or fed to pets
B) Records of number of meals eaten at home or away from the home
C) Per capita export data
D) Food disappearance data

Question 44

Discuss two reasons why data collected may not be valid.

Question 45

Food consumed away from the home is an example of food consumption data at the _____ level.

A) household
B) individual
C) national
D) international

Question 46

List 8 different risk factors of heart disease,noting which are risk factors that can be controlled.

Question 47

List four reasons for reading journal articles on a regular basis,and explain how you might become a better professional from reading these articles.

Question 48

Explain prevalence rates and how they differ from incidence rates.

Question 49

Compare and contrast the major strengths and limitations of cohort studies and case-control studies.

Question 50

Describe two examples of how the results of epidemiological studies have impacted the nutritional status of Americans.

Question 51

Explain how the complexity of our diets creates challenges in studying the relationship of diet to disease.

Question 52

What is the main difference between a retrospective and prospective cohort study?

Question 53

The diet history method of estimating dietary intake

A) is often considered the best method of assessing dietary intake.
B) uses a questionnaire including all important population-specific food sources of the nutrients under investigation.
C) requires the subject to make judgments about their usual food habits.
D) may not give an adequate picture of a specific individual's usual intake.

Question 54

Explain why the day-to-day variation in an individual's nutrient intake can have important implications for nutritional epidemiologic studies.

Question 55

Can data derived from an ecological study accurately yield a conclusion that consumption (or lack thereof)of a specific nutrient can lead to the development of a given disease? Why or why not?

Question 56

Differentiate among the methods of collecting food consumption data at the national,household,and individual levels.

Question 57

Describe three vital statistics used by epidemiologists to monitor a population's health status.

Question 58

Define confounding factors.List three possible confounding factors in an epidemiological study.

Question 59

Define epidemiology and its relationship to community nutrition.

Question 60

Use the following case scenario to answer short answer items. In its study of disease progression, epidemiology uses a variety of tools, including clinical, microbiological, pathological, demographic, sociological, and statistical tools, in a rigorous, scientific approach. Based on the epidemiologic method, answer the following questions.
What role might the community nutritionist play in this study?

Question 61

Use the following case scenario to answer short answer items. In its study of disease progression, epidemiology uses a variety of tools, including clinical, microbiological, pathological, demographic, sociological, and statistical tools, in a rigorous, scientific approach. Based on the epidemiologic method, answer the following questions.
Make an observation of the diet-cancer relationship.

Question 62

Use the following case scenario to answer short answer items. In its study of disease progression, epidemiology uses a variety of tools, including clinical, microbiological, pathological, demographic, sociological, and statistical tools, in a rigorous, scientific approach. Based on the epidemiologic method, answer the following questions.
Develop a hypothesis to be tested that is relevant to the diet-cancer relationship.

Question 63

Use the following case scenario to answer short answer items. In its study of disease progression, epidemiology uses a variety of tools, including clinical, microbiological, pathological, demographic, sociological, and statistical tools, in a rigorous, scientific approach. Based on the epidemiologic method, answer the following questions.
Would a cohort study be appropriate to investigate your hypothesis? Why or why not?