Course Description
An introduction to the basic concepts of nutritional epidemiology such as measuring disease frequency, prevalence, incidence, proportions; use of screening during human disease outbreak; and food poisoning investigations. Modeling of experimental and observational epidemiologic study designs used in the field of nutrition, critique of scientific papers, and ethical issues in nutrition research and publication.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required to review the literature in
consultation with the instructor to prepare a term paper.
Graduate students will also prepare and give class presentations
based on the term paper.
Athena Title
Nutritional Epidemiology
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
NUTR 4050/6050 or NUTR 4510/6510
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course introduces nutritional sciences students and public health students to basic epidemiologic tools needed for the community and population-level nutrition research. By the end of this course, students will learn to use basic concepts of nutritional epidemiology such as measuring nutrient deficiency or disease frequency, prevalence, incidence, proportions, and measures of effect (odds ratio, relative risk) in assessing health and nutrition risks at the population level. Students will also learn how to screen for specific conditions during nutrition emergencies and human health outbreak investigations including exposure and outcome measurements (diet and disease). Students will acquire the basic skills for monitoring the food consumption, nutrient intake, and nutritional status of a population. Students will have an in-depth understanding of the various study designs and their respective applications, and ethical issues in nutrition research.
Topical Outline
A. Nutritional Assessment: i. Dietary, Biochemical ii. Clinical iii. Anthropometry B. Misclassification Analysis: i. Sensitivity ii. Specificity iii. Predictive value C. Research Design: i. Observational ii. Experimental iii. Quasi-experimental D. Causality Analysis: i. Confounding ii. Validity iii. Power analysis E. Monitoring & Surveillance: i. National Nutrition Monitoring System F. Nutrition Program Evaluation: i. Formative ii. Process iii. Outcome/Impact G. Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health Issues (Graduate students literature evaluation for term paper)
Syllabus