Show Menu
Cheatography
  1. Home >
  2. Cheat Sheets >

Chronic Disease Concept in Epidemiology Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Epidemiology initially centered on identifying a single pathogen as the cause of disease, with a focus on isolating specific bacteria, viruses, or parasites. However, as advancements in epidemiology sciences it improved public health, infectious diseases became more controlled. This shift led to the rise of chronic diseases, presenting new challenges for epidemiologists in understanding and addressing health issues beyond infectious agents.

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Non infectious Diseases

Noninf­ectious acute conditions
e.g., accidents, suicide, stroke
Noninf­ectious Chronic disease
e.g., heart disease, cancer (typic­ally), diabetes. Charac­terized by latency periods of 10 to 20 or more years

Chronic Disease Epidem­iology Terms

Chronic disease epidem­iology examines the patterns, causes, and factors influe­ncing chronic diseases in popula­tions, applying this knowledge to prevent and manage health issues.
Latency Period
The time when the disease is present but not sympto­matic or detected.
Multif­act­orial etiology
Multiple factors that causes diseases e.g socioe­con­omic, cultural, or political factors

Disability

The reduced ability to function within a set range is referred to by the Intern­ational Classi­fic­ation of Functi­oning, Disabi­lity, and Health as "­dis­abi­lit­y," a compre­hensive term that includes impair­ments, limita­tions in activi­ties, and restri­ctions on partic­ipa­tion.
Activity Limitation
A challenge an individual may face in carrying out activi­ties.
Partic­ipation restri­ction
Any problem an individual may experience in his or her involv­ement in life situat­ions.

Priorities in Disease Prevention and Control

Motiva­tional Forces for Behavior Change
Pain and fear can motivate behavior change, but preventing chronic diseases requires adopting healthy habits long before these factors come into play.
Lifestyle and Behavior Changes
Key changes for preventing chronic diseases include reducing tobacco use, limiting alcohol and drug consum­ption, making dietary improv­ements, increasing exercise, mainta­ining a healthy weight, reducing stress, ensuring adequate sleep, practicing safe sex, and following safety measures.
 

The Envior­nemnt and Chronic Health Problems

Physical Stresses and Health
Relating to the body, such as excessive heat, cold, and noise; radiation (elect­rom­agn­etic, ultras­ound, microwave, x-irra­dia­tion); vehicular collis­ions; workplace injuries; climate change; ozone depletion; housing; and so on.
Chemical and Healths
Several chemicals (e.g., drugs, acids, alkali, heavy metals, poisons, some enzymes) in the enviro­nment are capable of causing chronic disease and adverse health conditions
Toxico­kin­etics
The area of study on how a chemical substance enters the body and the course it takes while in the body
Biologic Agents and Health
Biologic agents like viruses and bacteria are commonly linked to acute infectious diseases such as malaria and typhoid fever. However, they can also cause chronic illnesses like tuberc­ulosis, syphilis, polio, and leprosy.

The Envior­nemnt and Chronic Health Problems

Physical Stresses and Health
Relating to the body, such as excessive heat, cold, and noise; radiation (elect­rom­agn­etic, ultras­ound, microwave, x-irra­dia­tion); vehicular collis­ions; workplace injuries; climate change; ozone depletion; housing; and so on.

Chemicals and Health

Lead
Lead is a metal present in both manufa­ctured goods and the enviro­nment, and it is linked to severe health issues.
Radiation
Radiation exposure can be external or internal, with effects depending on the total dose, dose rate, and the area of the body exposed.
 
People are exposed to radiation through three main pathways: inhala­tion, ingestion, and direct (external) exposure.
 
Ionizing radiation is high-e­nergy radiation that can break chemical bonds in atoms and molecules, potent­ially leading to cancer.
 

Behavior and Chronic Health Problems

Smoking and Chronic Disease
Health belief Model
It suggests that behavior change occurs through a logical decisi­on-­making process, where indivi­duals assess their risk of illness, the severity of its conseq­uences, the effect­iveness of a recomm­ended action in reducing risk, and whether the benefits of taking action outweigh the costs or barriers.

Heredity and Chronic Health Problems

Cancer
Many health issues have a genetic component. For instance, while most cancer cases arise in indivi­duals without a family history, some families carry cancer suscep­tib­ility genes that increase the likelihood of developing the disease.
Epilepsy
Two other classi­fic­ations are idiopa­thic, which have genetic causes, and crypto­genic, which have non-ge­netic causes, like head trauma. Epilepsy is the most prevalent neurol­ogical disorder, affecting approx­imately 4% of the U.S. popula­tion.