prevalence (redirected from spot prevalence)

prevalence /prev·a·lence/ (prev´ah-lins) the number of cases of a specific disease present in a given population at a certain time.

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prev·a·lence (prv-lns)

n.

The total number of cases of a disease in a given population at a specific time.

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prevalence

[prev′ələns]

Etymology: L, praevalentia, a powerful force

(in epidemiology) the number of all new and old cases of a disease or occurrences of an event during a particular period. Prevalence is expressed as a ratio in which the number of events is the numerator and the population at risk is the denominator. See also rate. prevalent, adj.

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prevalence (prevlns),

adj in epidemiology, all the new and old cases of a disease or occurrence of an event during a particular period. It is expressed as a ratio in which the number of events is the numerator and the population at risk is the denominator.

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prevalence

the total number of cases of a specific disease in existence in a given population at a certain time, i.e. prevalence. See also cross-sectional study.

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instantaneous prevalence

the prevalence at a particular moment. Called also spot prevalence.

period prevalence

the number of cases of a disease which occur during a specified period, e.g. annual, lifetime, as a percentage of the total or average total number of animals at risk during the same period.

point prevalence

as for period prevalence (above) except that the assessment is made at a specific point in time rather than over a period, a rather impractical exercise.

prevalence rate

the number of patients who have the disease at a particular time, divided by the population at risk of having the disease at that time.

spot prevalence

see instantaneous prevalence (above).

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prevalence 

The number of people with a disease or condition in a given population at a specific time, either a point in time (point prevalence) or over a period of time (period prevalence). Example: the prevalence of keratoconus in Olmsted County, Minnesota on the third of December 1982 was 54.5 per 100 000 population. See incidence.

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prevalence

Epidemiology 1. The number of Pts with a specific condition at a specified time divided by the total number of people in the population 2. The number or proportion of cases, events or conditions in a given population at a given time. See Disease prevalence, Period prevalence. Cf Incidence Pharmacology The proportion of positives among the agents tested. See Two-by-two table.