Topic overview

Start with the big picture

Epidemiologic measures of association and risk help organize comparisons between groups, such as people with different exposure histories. They provide a framework for describing whether disease occurrence varies across those groups and for interpreting the direction and magnitude of an observed relationship. These measures support clear communication of study findings, but their meaning depends on the comparison being made and the context of the evidence. This introduction focuses on why association and risk measures matter in epidemiology. The full lesson develops the topic further, guiding learners through key distinctions and the interpretation of these measures in relation to disease occurrence.