population attributable fraction
pop-yoo-LAY-shun uh-TRIB-yoo-tuh-bul FRAK-shun
ˌpɒpjʊˈleɪʃən əˈtrɪbjʊtəbəl ˈfrækʃənListen
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Dictionary meaning
a measure of the proportion of disease in a total population that is attributable to a specific exposure, taking into account both the strength of the association between the exposure and the outcome and the prevalence of the exposure in the population; the population attributable fraction combines the relative risk with the exposure prevalence to estimate the maximum reduction in disease burden achievable if the exposure were completely eliminated from the population; it is a critical tool for public health priority-setting because an exposure with a moderate relative risk but very high prevalence may account for a larger share of the total disease burden than an exposure with a high relative risk but low prevalence; the measure requires assumptions about causality and is most meaningful when evidence for a causal relationship between the exposure and outcome is well established
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