What term is used to describe the proportion of a population found to have a condition?

What term is used to describe the proportion of a population found to have a condition?

• A. Incidence
• B. Prevalence
• C. Positive predictive value
• D. Negative predictive value

Answer: (B)

The term that describes the proportion of a population found to have a condition is prevalence. Prevalence reflects the total number of existing cases of a disease within a population at a specific point in time or over a specific period. It provides insight into how widespread a health condition is in a population and can be expressed as a percentage or a fraction of the population. To contrast, incidence refers to the number of new cases of a disease that occur in a specific period among a population at risk. Positive predictive value and negative predictive value, on the other hand, are measures related to the accuracy of diagnostic tests; they indicate how likely it is that individuals with a positive test truly have the disease or how likely it is that individuals with a negative test truly do not have the disease, respectively. Thus, prevalence is the correct term for describing the overall proportion of the population affected by a condition at a given time.

The term that describes the proportion of a population found to have a condition is prevalence. Prevalence reflects the total number of existing cases of a disease within a population at a specific point in time or over a specific period. It provides insight into how widespread a health condition is in a population and can be expressed as a percentage or a fraction of the population.

To contrast, incidence refers to the number of new cases of a disease that occur in a specific period among a population at risk. Positive predictive value and negative predictive value, on the other hand, are measures related to the accuracy of diagnostic tests; they indicate how likely it is that individuals with a positive test truly have the disease or how likely it is that individuals with a negative test truly do not have the disease, respectively. Thus, prevalence is the correct term for describing the overall proportion of the population affected by a condition at a given time.