Graded Homework

Answer the following questions:

1. Write down the equations for the following: incidence rate, point prevalence, crude death rate, case fatality rate, proportional mortality ratio, Cause-specific rate, age-specific rate, and sex-specific rate. Keep these equations handy so that you can refer to them on exams.
2. How does prevalence differ from incidence?
3. Describe the relationship between prevalence and incidence.
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of crude and adjusted rates?
5. Use the table below to answer the following questions:

   a. What is the sex ratio for total injuries?
   b. What is the crude mortality rate per 100,000 people?
   c. What is the cause-specific mortality rate for injuries and the case fatality rate (%) for injuries?

6. Autism is a serious and lifelong disability that is characterized by a severely decreased ability to engage in communication and social interaction. In 1998 citizens in a New Jersey town were concerned about the number of children diagnosed with autism, and a study was undertaken to establish the prevalence in the community. Data from the study are reported below:

7. Age Category Diagnosed with Autism 3 – 5 19 6 – 10 17

   Number of Children in the Population 3,479 5,417

   a. Calculate the prevalence rate of autism for these children for the two age categories.
   b. Convert the prevalence rate to a rate per 1,000.

8. You are working in a Health center which serves a population of 14,500 people. In the period from January to March you treat a total of 126 new cases of upper respiratory infection, and from April to June you treat a total of 70 new cases of respiratory infection. a. Calculate the incidence of upper respiratory infection in January-March and April-June.
   b. What may be some of the reasons that there is a change in the incidence?
   c. Why are we measuring incidence rather than prevalence in this example?
9. In this same health center that serves a population of 14,500 people, you treat a number of people with asthma and with diabetes (Type II). Since they all come to the center for their medication at least once every two months, you count all the persons with asthma and all those with diabetes in the months of June and July. You find that during this time you have treated 45 people with asthma and 165 people with type II diabetes. a. Calculate the prevalence of asthma and of type II diabetes in this population.
   b. Why are we measuring prevalence instead of incidence in this example?
10. During an entire year approximately 4,000 people, both adults and children, come to your clinic to receive care. During that year, the diagnosis of diarrhea was made in 500 people who came in to be seen for the problem.a. What was the annual incidence of diarrhea in your clinic population that year?
    b. Can you say that was the incidence of diarrhea for the whole city? Why or why not?
11. Among the 4,000 people who came into your clinic, half of them are adults. Among the adults, 50 of them have chronic arthritis.a. What is the prevalence of arthritis among the adults who come your clinic?
12. The federal government is accepting applications for research grants to reduce mortality in the United States. Based on the information in table 2-5 on page 38 in your textbook, what two types of research would you award approximately 50% of the available funding?