Basics of Epidemiological Data PDF

- Epidemiology and Rehabilitation (PT-110) Basics of Epidemiological Data Dr. Rajasekar Sannasi MPT,PhD Assistant Professor Department of Physiotherapy...

- Epidemiology and Rehabilitation (PT-110) Basics of Epidemiological Data Dr. Rajasekar Sannasi MPT,PhD Assistant Professor Department of Physiotherapy January 28, 2025 College of Health Sciences www.gmu.ac.ae College of Health Sciences  Morbidity is the state of having an illness or medical condition, either mental or physical. Subsets of morbidity are – incidence and prevalence Comorbidity – when a person suffering from more than one illness at a time. Morbidity  Mortality Mortality is the number of deaths due to a specific illness or disease over a specific period of time. Mortality rates describe the incidence of deaths among a specific population over a specific time. It is typically described as the number of cases per 100,000.  The current mortality rate for lung cancer among males in the United States is roughly 40 per 100,000. When an event or a disease causes more deaths than expected, it is called excess mortality. COVID-19 is one such example. The 2020 pandemic caused 50% more deaths than were expected over that period of time.  Epidemiological Studies What is a study? It is a scientific method of answering a question from collecting data (information) from the selected population. Evidence hierarchy of epidemiological study designs  Analytical – quantitative Observational – qualitative  Cohort study Forward looking study Prospective (or retrospective) longitudinal study Incidence study  Case control study Retrospective evaluation to determine who was exposed and who was not exposed to the risk factor – retrospective study  Cross sectional analytical Single examination of a cross section of population at one point of time Both exposure and an outcome are measured at the same time Exposure = High BMI or Low BMI Outcome = Serum cholesterol level  Cross sectional observational Prevalence studies Used to investigate non fatal diseases Provide information about the frequency or characteristic of disease Cross sectional observational study can collect information only on prevalence NOT on incidence  Ecological study The study that uses group level data Can not make conclusions about cause and effect relationship Fallacy -group level data may be used to derive conclusions about individuals Advantage – inexpensive, quick and look at many different relationships Average dietary fat intake per capita  Disease registries Disease registry is a special database that contains information about people diagnosed with a specific type of disease. Most disease registries are either hospital based or population based.