The rate at which new cases of a disease or health outcome occur in a population over a defined period, one of epidemiology two basic measures of disease frequency alongside prevalence. Incidence measures new occurrence; prevalence measures the total burden at a point in time.
Facts
Concept ClassEpidemiology, measurement 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Encyclopedia Britannica
In Branch
Source Encyclopedia Britannica
Open Questions
Source Encyclopedia Britannica
Sources
1. Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.Introduction section, lead paragraph
In epidemiology, incidence refers to the occurrence of new cases of a disease, injury, or other medical condition within a specific time period. It is typically calculated as a rate or proportion, quantifying the risk (incidence proportion) or the number of new cases in a population over time (incidence rate).
- Associated With: Prevalence
- In Branch: Epidemiology
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
What year did incidence originate as a defined epidemiological measure?
Incidence is defined by every standard reference as the count of new cases of a disease or condition arising in a population over a stated period, but the Encyclopedia Britannica overview cited on this entity and the Wikipedia article on incidence (epidemiology) both give the definition with no first use, no originating publication and no individual credited with introducing the term, unlike eponymous measures on this atlas such as body mass index (Adolphe Quetelet, 1832) and herd immunity (1894).
What would resolve this A source tracing the term incidence, in its epidemiological sense, to a specific vital-statistics or epidemiological publication and naming when it entered standard use, or a scholarly consensus that the term developed gradually with no single point of origin.
History of epidemiologyEncyclopedia Britannica
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