Exposure

How it is used

In study design, the exposure is the factor being studied and the outcome is the disease. People are exposed to something; you measure the level, length or route of exposure. In outbreaks, a 'high-risk exposure' is close unprotected contact with a case.

Example sentences

1. Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter is linked to heart disease.

2. Health workers who reported a needle-stick exposure were offered testing.

Common collocations

• occupational exposure
• exposure to
• level of exposure
• high-risk exposure
• exposure and outcome

Related terms

• risk factorA characteristic, behaviour or exposure that increases the chance of developing a disease or health problem, such as smoking, high blood pressure or poor housing.
• cohort studyAn observational study that follows a group of people over time, comparing those with and without an exposure to see who develops a disease or outcome.
• case-control studyAn observational study that starts with people who have a disease (cases) and people who do not (controls), then looks back to compare their past exposures.
• occupational healthThe field that protects and promotes the health of workers by preventing work-related illness and injury and making workplaces safer and healthier.
• associationA statistical link between an exposure and an outcome, meaning they occur together more or less often than chance would predict, whether or not one causes the other.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• exposure · Finance & Banking
• exposure · Photography

More terms: Bias, Causation and Data Analysis

• bias
• confounding
• relative risk
• odds ratio
• confidence interval
• selection bias