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Incidence: Indicator in Epidemiology

The term incidence comes from the Latin word incidere: to happen or to occur. The incidence is a parameter in epidemiology for characterizing the risk of a new onset of disease in a particular group (population). Incidence is especially useful for describing the extent of short lasting diseases within a population. Most often, the incidence rate is used to describe the risk for a certain disease in a population within a specific time period.

Definition of Incidence Rate

The incidence rate indicates the number of new cases

of a certain condition
in a population of defined size, usually expressed per 100,000 persons
during a specific period of time, usually within a year

References

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