International normalized ratio Health Dictionary

1 A measure of association which quantifies the relationship between an exposure and outcome from a comparative study; also known as the cross-product ratio. 2 Comparison of the presence of a risk factor in a sample.... odds ratio

Limiting the availability of something (e.g. due to a shortage of the item itself or of resources with which to buy it).... rationing

The ratio of one sex to another. Usually defined as the ratio of males to females.... sex ratio

An indicator used in population studies to measure the portion of the population which is economically dependent on active age groups. It is calculated as the sum of the 0-14 year-olds and the over 60 or 65 year-olds, depending on the working age limit considered, divided by the number of people aged between 15 and 59 or 64, respectively.... dependency ratio

A World Health Organisation classi?cation of all known diseases and syndromes. The diseases are divided according to system (respiratory, renal, cardiac, etc.) or type (accidents, malignant growth, etc.). Each of them is given a three-digit number to facilitate computerisation. This classi?cation allows mortality and morbidity rates to be compared nationally and regionally. A revised ICD is published every ten years; a similar classi?cation is being developed for impairments, disabilities and handicaps.... international classification of disease (icd)

Classification of health and health-related domains that describe body functions and structures, activities and participation. The domains are classified from body, individual and societal perspectives. Since an individual’s functioning and disability occurs in a context, this classification includes a list of environmental factors.... international classification of functioning, disability and health (icf) a

A classification of diseases, conditions and other reasons for attendance for primary care. This classification is an adaptation of the ICD but makes allowance for the diagnostic uncertainty that prevails in primary care.... international classification of health problems in primary care (ichppc)

A systematic taxonomy of the consequences of injury and disease. See “disability”; “handicap”; “impairment”.... international classification of impairments, disabilities and handicaps (icidh)

The official classification of the World Organisation of Family Doctors. It includes three elements of the doctor-patient encounter: the reason for the encounter; the diagnosis; and the treatment or other action or intervention.... international classification of primary care (icpc)

A list of diagnoses and identifying codes used by medical practitioners and other health care providers. The coding and terminology provide a uniform language that permits consistent communication on claim forms. Data from earlier time periods were coded using the appropriate revision of the ICD for that time period. Changes in classification of causes of death in successive revisions of the ICD may introduce discontinuities in cause of death statistics over time.... international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, tenth revision (icd-10)

Service provision targets established by an authority on a population basis.... planning ratio

The value obtained by dividing one quantity by another: a general term of which rate, proportion, percentage, etc. are subsets. A ratio is an expression of the relationship between a numerator and a denominator where the two usually are separate and distinct quantities, neither being included in the other.... ratio

See “measurement scale”.... ratio scale

(IPSS) a self-administered questionnaire, completed by men with *lower urinary tract symptoms, which consists of seven questions based on the extent of symptoms and a single quality-of-life question. It gives a numerical score, on a scale of 0 to 35, to indicate the severity of the patient’s symptoms. A score of 0–7 indicates mild symptoms, 8–19 moderate symptoms, and 20–35 severe symptoms. The quality-of-life question is scored from 0–6.... international prostate symptom score

the degree to which a test result will change the odds that a patient has a disease. The likelihood ratio for a positive test expresses the degree to which the odds that a patient has a disease increase following a positive test. The likelihood ratio for a negative test expresses the degree to which the odds that a patient has a disease decrease following a negative test. Likelihood ratios depend on the *sensitivity and specificity of the test.... likelihood ratio

a laboratory measurement used as a screening test for the first signs of kidney damage in *diabetes mellitus. It detects an increase in the very small levels of the protein albumin present in urine, relative to the concentration of creatinine. It is best measured in an early morning urine sample. See microalbuminuria.... microalbumin:creatinine ratio

n. (in psychology) the explanation of events or behaviour in terms that avoid giving the true reasons. For example, someone may claim to have been too tired to go to a party whereas in fact he or she was afraid of meeting new people.... rationalization

(ICD) a list of all known diseases and syndromes, including mental and behavioural disorders, published by the *World Health Organization every ten years (approximately). Over the years the classification has moved from being disease-orientated to include a wider framework of illness and other health problems. The version in current use, ICD-10, was published in 1992 and employs alphanumeric coding. It is used in many countries as the principal means of classifying both mortality and morbidity experience and allows comparison of morbidity and mortality rates nationally and internationally. The clinical utility of the ICD is a matter of some controversy, especially in the field of psychiatry. ICD-11 was published in June 2018 and is intended to come into use from 2022. It includes about 55,000 codes for injuries, diseases, and causes of death, which is three times more than its predecessor. It also differs substantially from ICD-10 as each disease entry includes descriptions and guidance as to what is covered by the term, rather than the term alone. For the first time it includes specific sections on sexual health and traditional medicine. A parallel list, the International Classification of Functioning, Disabilities and Health (ICF), has also been compiled and is being used alongside the ICD. See also handicap.

The standard international classification for statistical, administrative, and epidemiological purposes, as supplied by the World Health Organization

The WHO framework for measuring health and disability in individuals and populations... international classification of diseases

(SMR) the ratio of observed mortality rate to expected mortality rate (calculated using indirect standardization), expressed as an integer where 100 represents agreement between observed and expected rates. See standardized rates.... standardized mortality ratio

see UICC.... union international contre le cancer

(WHR) the ratio of the circumference of the waist to that of the hips. It is used as a measure of obesity and is a more reliable predictor of obesity-related mortality than *body mass index alone.... waist to hip ratio