| aetiological fraction | <epidemiology> The reduction in disease when a risk factor is removed. If I* is the number of people that a risk factor is responsible for and I is the total number of cases over the same period, then the aetiological fraction is I*/I. Equivalently, the aetiological fraction is (I-Io)/I. Where Io is the number of cases in the absence of the risk factor. Also known as the attributable fraction. (05 Dec 1998) |
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| aetiology | <study> A branch of knowledge concerned with the causes of particular phenomena, specifically a branch of medical science concerned with the causes and origins of diseases. The study of factors of causation or those associated with the causation of disease or abnormal body states. Origin: L. Aetiologia, Gr. Aitiologia. (09 Feb 1998) |