Epidemiology: Incidence and Prevalence · USMLE Step 1

If the incidence of a fatal disease remains constant but survival improves, what happens to prevalence?

  1. It increases
  2. It decreases
  3. It stays the same
  4. It becomes unpredictable
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Correct answer: It increases

Improved survival increases the number of people living with the disease at any time, increasing prevalence even with unchanged incidence.

Difficulty: Medium Question 10 of 20

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