What does exposure mean in epidemiology?

What does exposure mean in epidemiology?

In epidemiology, the term “exposure” can be broadly applied to any factor that may be associated with an outcome of interest. When using observational data sources, researchers often rely on readily available (existing) data elements to identify whether individuals have been exposed to a factor of interest.

How do you define exposure in a study?

The exposure refers to any characteristic that may explain or predict the presence of a study outcome. The outcome refers to the characteristic that is being predicted.

What is exposure in public health?

“Exposure” is defined as the “contact between an agent and a target” (World Health Organization 2004).

What are the methods of exposure?

It can be used to measure exposure of an individual to contaminants in the breathing zone, in food and drink, and on the skin.

Methods

  • Inhalation.
  • Ingestion.
  • Dermal.

What is the example of exposure?

When you are outside for too long in the winter and get sick, this is an example of exposure. The act or an instance of exposing, as: An act of subjecting or an instance of being subjected to an action or an influence. Their first exposure to big city life.

What is exposure in a cohort study?

In a cohort study, the participants do not have the outcome of interest to begin with. They are selected based on the exposure status of the individual. They are then followed over time to evaluate for the occurrence of the outcome of interest.

What is exposure medical term?

[eks-po´zhur] 1. the act of laying open, as surgical exposure. 2. the condition of being subjected to something, as to infectious agents or extremes of weather or radiation, which may have a harmful effect.

How do you measure exposure?

The most common measurement utilized is the concentration of a given agent. Area monitors are used to estimate exposure to individuals living within a certain proximity and personal monitors can be used to measure individual-specific exposure.

What are the four methods of exposure assessment?

The EAM Team, receiving input from professionals across the occupational health community, identified a list of research needs re- garding exposure assessment. Within this document, the needs have been grouped into four categories: Study Design, Monitoring Method Development, Applied Toxicology, and Education.

What are the four main methods to quantify exposure?

Considering Four Types of Assessment: Occupational Histories
Sensitivity, specificity, the Kappa, can be calculated for these measures. Using a Job Exposure Matrix is another way to measure relative exposure.

What are the 3 essential components of exposure?

What is the Exposure Triangle?

  • Aperture.
  • Shutter Speed.
  • ISO.
  • To produce a photograph or video you must use the exposure triangle in order to balance aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and as a result, control how long and how much light enters the camera sensor.

What does exposure mean in medical terms?

Exposure, in biology, contact of an organism with a harmful agent, e.g., chemicals. Exposure, in medicine, poor health or death due to lack of protection from extreme weather or dangerous substances, e.g., from hypothermia or sunburn. Exposure assessment, in epidemiology and risk assessment.

What are the 3 types of cohort studies?

There are three general types of comparison groups for cohort studies.

  • An internal comparison group.
  • A comparison cohort.
  • The general population.

What are the two types of cohort study?

There are two types of cohort studies: prospective and retrospective (or historical) cohorts. Prospective studies follow a cohort into the future for a health outcome, while retrospective studies trace the cohort back in time for exposure information after the outcome has occurred.

What is exposure and example?

Exposure is defined as the state of being in contact with something or is defined as a condition that can develop from being subject to bad weather. When someone introduces you to theatre, this is an example of a situation where you receive exposure to theatre.

What is an example of exposure assessment?

For example, a study looking to assess dietary pesticide exposure may need to address how dietary intake for an individual may change seasonally, which would result in different exposure levels for the same individual.

What are the steps of exposure assessment?

Collect additional data and re-assess the exposure profiles as needed.

  • 1) Gather Available Information and Data.
  • 2) Define Similar Exposure Groups.
  • 3) Profile the Exposure.
  • 4) Determine the Acceptability of Exposure.
  • 5) Collect Additional Information and Exposure Monitoring Data.
  • Optimal Level of Protection.

What is the main objective of exposure assessment?

The purpose of exposure assessment in environmental epidemiology is to facilitate investigation of and to establish cause-effect relationships between environmental exposure and adverse health outcomes.

What is personal exposure monitoring?

Personal exposure monitoring is a way of measuring a worker’s exposure level to a hazard. Common hazards that may require exposure monitoring include: Respiratory hazards such as particulates, gases and vapors, biological organisms, and below normal concentrations of oxygen.

What are the elements of exposure?

The seven elements of exposure are, the speed of the camera, or ISO, the T-stop of the lens or aperture, lens filters, the frame rate of the camera, the shutter angle in the camera, the amount of light present in the scene, and the desired depth of field.

What is the difference between case study and cohort study?

The only difference between cohort studies and case series in many definitions is that cohort studies compare different groups (i.e., examine the association between exposure and outcome), while case series are uncontrolled [3,4,5].

What are the 3 types of observational study?

Three types of observational studies include cohort studies, case-control studies, and cross-sectional studies (Figure 1).

What are the 5 main activities of an exposure assessment?

Collect additional data and re-assess the exposure profiles as needed.

  • Gather Available Information and Data.
  • Define Similar Exposure Groups.
  • Profile the Exposure.
  • Determine the Acceptability of Exposure.
  • Collect Additional Information and Exposure Monitoring Data.

Why is exposure assessment important?

Exposure assessment is critical to both understanding the scope of occupational safety and health problems, and confirming whether interventions are effective. Burden cannot be measured without appropriate and adequate exposure assessment methods to obtain baseline data and assess changes.

What does personal exposure mean?

Definition. An incident of an individual’s contact or encounter with a hazardous chemical, radiological, physical, biological, or energetic agent at one of the exchange boundaries of the individual (e.g., skin, respiratory system, eyes, ears, or digestive system).

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