Course Syllabus

 

Course Description

The main goal of the course is to give an introduction into epidemiology as one of the cornerstones of public health science. The main emphasis will be on understanding the central concepts of epidemiology and epidemiological reasoning and to appreciate how epidemiology can contribute to public health research and help inform public health decision making.

To achieve these objectives, students will learn:

• Basic epidemiological concepts, such as incidence and prevalence, used in describing disease occurrence.
• Different study designs, including case control studies, cohort studies, clinical trials, literature reviews, and meta-analyses
• Risk calculation in analytical epidemiology, including concepts of odds ratios, and relative risks, bias and confounding, age standardization, attributable risk, causality, validation, etc.

In addition, the course will give an understanding of the Danish civil registration system and some important health and health-related registers. Throughout the course, we will use case studies from Denmark to illustrate the use of epidemiology in public health research and practice. Students will:

• Receive an overview of the most important Danish health registers
• Including their content, structure, historical overview and application in epidemiological research and disease and health care quality monitoring.
• Some registers will be talked about in class: Civil registration system/Central Personal Registry (CPR), Cause of Death Register, National Patient Register, National Health Service Register, Danish National Prescription Register, Cancer Registry, Diabetes Register
• Learn to appreciate what a unique and important resource Danish registers represent for Danish epidemiological research in an international context
  • Danish Registers give the field of epidemiology in Denmark an ‘edge’ and allow for greater research opportunities; some even refer to Denmark as “an epidemiologist’s paradise”
• Learn to critically question and evaluate the register data quality
  
  

Finally, during the course we will briefly touch on:

• International classification of diseases
• Current and historical perspectives on major disease groups and their relative burden to public health
• The application of biostatistics to epidemiology.
  
  

Course goals will be accomplished through assigned readings, class lectures and exercises, presentations by accomplished guest lecturers, site visits, and discussion of state-of-the art published papers.

 

Expected Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Define and understand the fundamental concepts of epidemiology
• Distinguish between types of epidemiological studies, and understand their ‘hierarchy’ with respect to research
• Calculate and interpret basic measures of occurrence and association and interpret the results
• Gain an understanding of the unique resources that Danish health registers represent for epidemiological research in Denmark
• Apply epidemiological thinking to critically read and appraise articles in medical literature
• Analytically assess collection and analysis of data, and evaluate the relevant hypotheses
• Discuss the public health implications of epidemiological data and research

 

 

Faculty

My von Euler-Chelpin Associate Professor (Section for Environmental Health, Dept. of Public Health, University of Copenhagen) Ph.D. (Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 2007). Research Consultant at UNESCO, Paris and Nairobi, and International Committee of the Red Cross, 1986-2002. Researcher, Dept. of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 2002–present. With DIS since 2011.

 

 

Evaluation and Grading

To be eligible for a passing grade, you must complete all of the assigned work.

The factors influencing the final grade and the proportional importance of each factor is shown below:

Component	Weight
Attendance	7.5%
Participation (active participation in class)	7.5%
Mandatory Exercise (take home exercise)	10%
Midterm exam (multiple choice test)	17.5%
Final Exam (multiple choice test)	17.5%
Group project (presentation in class and take home paper) Presentation in class 10% Research paper in groups 30%	40%

 

Attendance grade

Attendance is a crucial part of your learning and your participation grade.

Attendance is mandatory for all scheduled class sessions and field studies.

• Each absence from a class session or field study will automatically result in a deduction of 10 points from your attendance grade (out of 100 total points).
• Exceptions to this point deduction policy can only be made if supported by prior approval from DIS Academic Support (e.g., for serious personal or family matters).

 

Use of laptops or phones in class

Use of phones in class is not allowed, except as a calculator during exercises as specified. Laptop use is allowed for group and project work.

 

Required Readings

Textbook: Leon Gordis. Epidemiology, 5th ed. 2014

Lecture notes on Danish registers (will be available on Canvas)

Article List (available through Canvas)

 

1. Brandi et al. Psoriasis and mental health in adolescents: A cross-sectional study within the Danish National Birth Cohort
2. Lynge et al. Breast density and risk of breast cancer
3. Bunddgaard et al. Effectiveness of Adding a Mask Recommendation to Other Public Health Measures to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Danish Mask Wearers. A Randomized Controlled Trial
4. Nilsson et al. Homelessness as a predictor of mortality: an 11-year registerbased cohort study
5. Byrne et al. Sleep Disorders and Risk of Incident Depression: A Population Case–Control Study
6. Brøndum-Jacobsen et al. Skin cancer as a marker of sun exposure associates with myocardial infarction, hip
   fracture and death from any cause.
7. Lange & Keiding. Comments to Skin cancer as a marker of sun exposure: a case of serious immortality bias