Question

How does epigenetics relate to decision making and occurrence of type 1 and type 2 errors in the diagnostic process in a therapeuitc setting?

Answer 1

Epigenetics is the study of molecular processes that influence the flow of information between a constant DNA sequence and variable gene expression patterns. This includes the investigation of nuclear organization, DNA methylation, histone modification, and RNA transcription.

Epidemiology is the method of choice for quantifying and interpreting health phenomena, placing them into perspective to allow trend analysis and projections. It is a tool for analysis, evaluation, and forecasting and is thus indispensable in the decision-making process.

Epidemiology is the method of choice for quantifying and interpreting health phenomena, placing them into perspective to allow trend analysis and projections. It is a tool for analysis, evaluation, and forecasting and is thus indispensable in the decision-making process. However, this comprehensive technique has its limitations since health is the result of complex interactions: individual requirements do not always correspond to the overall needs of the community; consideration has to be given to solidarity and the necessity for cost-sharing; and the decision process is strongly influenced by social, cultural, religious and political factors which defy quantification and, on occasion, any rational course of action. Each indicator only takes into account one aspect of the situation and the pertinent indicator should, therefore, be carefully selected. At the same time, any choice implicitly signifies value judgments-often unnoticed-which need to be balanced and validated in relation to the ethical values of the community in order to be of any assistance to decision-making. Decision-making is a qualitative political process which, although based on the quantitative analysis supplied by epidemiology, cannot be limited to it. Each approach enhances the other, but they should not be confused if freedom to act is to be preserved from being locked into some kind of mechanical process that is unacceptable both to man and to society.

Type I and type II errors. ... In statistical hypothesis testing, a type I error is the rejection of a true null hypothesis (also known as a "false positive" finding or conclusion), while a type II error is the non-rejection of a false null hypothesis (also known as a "false negative" finding or conclusion).

The wrong diagnosis is not uncommon and we know this from our personal and social experiences. In fact, in today’s world, the overuse of diagnostic testing has been partially attributed to the fear of missing something important and intolerance of diagnostic uncertainty.

The number of health care professionals involved in the diagnostic process can vary substantially depending on the nature of the patient’s health problem: Type I and Type II is more important to determine an error in the diagnostic process in therapeutic settings also. For example, McDonald (2014) noted that a diagnostic process could involve a single clinician if the suspected diagnosis is considered something straightforward, such as a common cold. However, at the other end of the spectrum, the diagnostic process could be quite complex and involve a broad array of health care professionals, such as primary care clinicians, diagnostic testing health care professionals, multiple specialists if different organ systems are suspected to be involved, nurses, pharmacists, and others.

For More Information:  https://www.nap.edu/read/21794/chapter/4