Question

Discuss the differences of how epidemiology applies to infectious diseases as compared to chronic diseases.   Which area is epidemiology more likely to have an effect, and why?

Answer 1

Epidemiology is further divided into chronic or infectious .One classification is based on cause (infectious and non?infectious diseases) while the second is based on effect (chronic and acute diseases).1 Many chronic diseases have an infectious origin, such as cervical cancer and liver cancer. Many patients with infectious diseases require long?term care. Human immunodeficiency virus infection has become a chronic disease in many countries.1Furthermore, some chronic diseases have a short duration. Pancreatic cancer is called a chronic disease despite the fact that very few sufferers survive even 1 year.

Infectious and chronic diseases also interact with each other. Infectious diseases increase risk of hospital admission and death among people with pre?existing chronic diseases (such as circulatory and respiratory diseases). Most of those who died in the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

Although it is common to approach chronic and infectious diseases as having completely distinct aetiologies, there is an increasing appreciation for the common determinants of health that underlie both, such as housing and socioeconomic status.

Segregation of epidemiology into chronic and infectious diseases has led to a neglected area in public health – the interface between chronic disease and infectious disease.