Descriptive Data and Hypothesis Generation
Questions 1: Provide the correct answer
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Which of the following provide information on the ultimate effect of a disease? (a. Natality data, b. Morbidity data, c. Mortality data, d. Incidence data)
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In Chapter 5 of the textbook, which of the following along with state and local surveillance programs serve as the primary data sources on the descriptive epidemiology of elevated blood lead levels among U.S. children? (a. National Survey of Family Growth, b. National Health Interview Survey, c. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, d. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System)
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True or False? If the rate of disease among migrants approaches that of the host country, epidemiologists hypothesize that environmental factors may cause the disease. (a. True, b. False)
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Which of the following are descriptive accounts of clinical presentation and demographic characteristics of individual patients of a previously unknown disease or an unusual presentation of a known disease? (a. Descriptive reports, b. Disease reports, c. Disease presentations, d. Case reports)
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Which of the following is a visual expression of the distribution of the number of cases of a disease over time? (a. Disease plot, b. Epidemic curve, c. Disease progression curve, d. Disease distribution chart)
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Which of the following are limitations of cross-sectional surveys? Select all that apply. (a. Self-selection of participants, b. Length of time required to complete, c. Poor recall, d. Difficult to analyze)
Question 2: Descriptive Data and Hypothesis Generation
National Survey of Family Growth 1982-2010
The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) provides nationally representative estimates and trends for infertility, surgical sterilization, and fertility among U.S. women and men aged 15-44. The NSFG survey has been administered since 1973, and its latest round in 2006-2010 consisted of 22,682 interviews. Infertility was defined as a lack of pregnancy in the 12 months prior to the survey despite having had unprotected sexual intercourse in each of those months with the same husband or partner. Women were classified as surgically sterile if they had an unreversed sterilizing operation, for example, a tubal sterilization or hysterectomy. Presumed fertile women were based on the residual category of those who did not meet the definitions for surgically sterile or infertile.
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Review these tables (Attached under Module 4) and discuss:
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The trends you observe (Identify any 2 trends)
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Any 2 possible limitations of the data.
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Using these data and your knowledge as a springboard, come up with a testable hypothesis about some aspect of infertility, fertility, or surgical sterilization: clearly define exposure group(s), a specific outcome and a stated direction between the exposure and outcome (See section on generating a hypothesis on page 177 of the textbook). For example, women with a history of chlamydia infection are twice as likely to experience infertility compared to women without a history of chlamydia infection.
Question 3: Cross Sectional Study review
Read article Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Ogden, C. L., & Curtin, L. R. (2010). Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999-2008. JAMA, 303(3), 235-241. Available at:
- Summarize (in no more than a paragraph or two) the differences in the prevalence of obesity by age group and race/ ethnicity for both men and women
DETAILED ASSIGNMENT
