22 Questions
What is the primary goal when selecting a minimally sufficient set S?
To reduce confounding variables
What is the purpose of creating a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)?
To visualize the relationships between variables
Why is it important to consider district zoning laws when modeling health disparities?
Because they affect access to healthy food
What is an example of a social determinant of health?
Access to healthy food
What is the term for a variable that can affect both the exposure and outcome, causing bias in the estimate of the causal effect?
Confounding variable
What happens if we forget to include important ancestors in our DAG?
The DAG becomes biased
What is the term for a variable that is caused by the exposure and also affects the outcome?
Mediator
Why is it important to consider multiple possible sets S when selecting a minimally sufficient set?
To ensure that all possible sets S are identified
What is the focus of the research question in the given example?
Effect of neighborhood violence on cardiovascular disease
What type of paths are the direct path from neighborhood violence to cardiovascular disease and the path mediated by physical activity?
Causal paths
What is the role of physical activity in the given example?
It is a mediator between neighborhood violence and cardiovascular disease
What type of variables are income, race, and ethnicity in the given example?
Confounding variables
What is the main objective of drawing a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) in this context?
To identify the confounding variables between neighborhood violence and cardiovascular disease
What is the term for the unfair and avoidable differences in health outcomes that are influenced by the social determinants of health?
Health inequities
What is the main issue with only conditioning on income in the example?
It does not account for race/ethnicity
What is the purpose of using a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) in this example?
To visualize the complex relationships between social determinants of health
Which of the following is a social determinant of health?
Access to healthy food
What is the main limitation of conditioning on income and race/ethnicity?
It does not capture the complete causal pathway
What is the main contribution of social epidemiology to our understanding of health disparities?
Demonstrating the relationship between social determinants and health outcomes
What is the role of confounding variables in the example?
They are the variables that affect the relationship between the variables of interest
What does the example illustrate about the relationship between health disparities and social determinants?
Health disparities are the result of a complex interplay between social determinants
What is the main takeaway from the example regarding the definition of health disparities?
Health disparities are the result of a complex interplay between social determinants
Study Notes
Social Epidemiology Example
- The example explores the relationship between neighborhood violence and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
- Income and physical activity are considered as potential variables in defining the relationship between neighborhood violence and CVD risk.
Insufficient Conditioning
- Conditioning on income alone is insufficient to establish a relationship between neighborhood violence and CVD risk.
- Conditioning on race/ethnicity and income is also insufficient to establish a relationship between neighborhood violence and CVD risk.
- Conditioning on income and physical activity is similarly insufficient to establish a relationship between neighborhood violence and CVD risk.
Minimally Sufficient Set
- The combination of income and race/ethnicity is a minimally sufficient set of variables to establish a relationship between neighborhood violence and CVD risk.
Choosing Between Sets
- Two possible sets of minimally sufficient variables to measure the relationship between neighborhood violence and CVD risk are:
- Income and race/ethnicity
- Income and physical activity
DAG Errors
- Errors in the Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) can affect the outcome of the analysis.
- Forgetting important ancestors (variables) can lead to errors in the DAG.
Research Question
- The research question is: What is the effect of neighborhood violence on the risk of cardiovascular diseases?
Causal Paths
- Two causal paths exist between exposure (neighborhood violence) and outcome (CVD risk):
- Direct path from violence to CVD risk
- Path mediated by physical activity
- Three backdoor (biasing) paths exist that can affect the analysis.
This quiz assesses the relationship between physical activity and various health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease and neighborhood safety.
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