Epidemiology is a field in the broad field of medicine that concerns itself with the distribution of human diseases in the human populations and the causative factors of the distribution. This study is articulated by studying the prevalent statistics that promote the sustainability of the medical condition in a given locality. This field of medicine is quite broad in nature as it places its focus on groups of people as opposed to the customary focus on a single patient and usually is based on a historical account of the prevalence of the medical condition. This field arose in the 19th century as a result of an extensive research to causes of human diseases which were aimed at mapping out populations most vulnerable to a given disease, identifying its causative agent so as to adopt preventive measures.
A couple of considerations are assessed in order to give a comprehensive account of this type of research. The most common tools applied here are mortality rates, incidences and prevalence rate of the disease. These help a researcher to better understand the disease and its different characteristics as projected by the population. Epidemiologic studies are descriptive or analytic in nature depending on if they characterize the disease or test the conclusions derived from laboratory findings. The data accrued from such a research is helpful in establishing new informed measures to adapt to plan a new health approach to curbing the effects of the disease to a population.
Acquired heart disease
This is a common cardiac condition that develops in human beings over time due to various factors thus affecting the heart and blood vessels. These conditions are not present at birth and they include coronary heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, aorta and pulmonary vessels diseases, a disease of the heart valves and tissue of the heart. Using a case study of the coronary disease, the flow of blood to the heart is obstructed in the vessels that feed the heart for people suffering this condition. This is a condition that is prevalent in many adults who habit industrialized countries. The symptoms of the conditioning surface only when acute thrombosis restricts the blood flow to very critical levels hence making it plausible for doctors to detect and prevent fatality in its initial stages. A study has proven that there exist a number of influences that cause coronary artery disease to develop to coronary heart disease which entails coronary thrombosis, coronary spasm and hemodynamic properties of the cardiac muscle.
Coronary disease has become one of the major causes of high mortality rates in the world today. At first, the prevalence of the condition was high in North America and Europe and less common in Asian manor, Africa, Middle East and South America. With an increasing spread in the adoption of western lifestyles, such diseases have become more prevalent in these areas due to the adoption of western diets more so the fast foods. Other contributing factors to the condition have manifested in individual life choices such as smoking cigarettes, lack of physical exercise and obesity. Half of the coronary disease cases are attributed to these risk factors and as well, statistics show that these causative factors are more prevalent in the lifestyles of the young and middle-aged adults than in older populations.
In epidemiology, different study designs may be applied in the research entailing observational studies and also experimental studies. In this particular case study, the researcher used more of observational studies systematically collecting information from different sample groups but does not directly engage the target groups being observed. Tools applied here are such as cross-sectional surveys, cohort and case-control studies. Coronary disease has been attributed to be a lifestyle disease and thus looking into different life choices it is possible to draw a remedy for the prevalence of the disease.
The epidemiology study should be standardized so as to minimize error margin and creation of bias. In this study, the most dominant biases is based on selection bias information bias and even confounding. Selection bias is through the low response rates of the control group due to observational design applied in the study. Although some bias cannot be avoided or controlled it is plausible to choose the appropriate tools that will give the most objective findings and conclusions. Bias in this case study has also been influenced by the exposure not being randomly assigned but this is due to confounding bias. The follow up here is incomplete hence creating bias.
References
cardiovascular disease | Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, & Prevention – Acquired heart disease. (2018). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 March 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/science/cardiovascular-disease/Acquired-heart-disease
