Which term describes the rate of new disease cases in a population?

Which term describes the rate of new disease cases in a population?

• A. Incidence
• B. Prevalence
• C. Morbidity
• D. Mortality

Answer: (A)

Incidence measures how often new disease occurs in a population during a defined period. It counts only people who were disease-free at the start and then develop the condition, reflecting the risk of developing the disease. Prevalence, by contrast, shows how many people have the disease at a given time, including both new and existing cases, and speaks to overall disease burden rather than the rate of new cases. Morbidity refers to illness or disability caused by the disease and conveys the impact on health, not specifically the rate of new cases. Mortality is the rate of deaths from the disease. For example, if 50 new cases arise in a year among 1,000 at-risk people, the incidence is 50 per 1,000 per year.

Incidence measures how often new disease occurs in a population during a defined period. It counts only people who were disease-free at the start and then develop the condition, reflecting the risk of developing the disease. Prevalence, by contrast, shows how many people have the disease at a given time, including both new and existing cases, and speaks to overall disease burden rather than the rate of new cases. Morbidity refers to illness or disability caused by the disease and conveys the impact on health, not specifically the rate of new cases. Mortality is the rate of deaths from the disease. For example, if 50 new cases arise in a year among 1,000 at-risk people, the incidence is 50 per 1,000 per year.