Below is my classmate's response. When responding to my classmate, offer additional examples of appropriate uses for incidence and prevalence and explain how the two measures are related. The answer has to be a minimum of 50 words with one scholarly and/or peer-reviewed citation and reference. Thank you.

Prevalence is a descriptive measurement in epidemiology that demonstrates the number of existing cases of disease, illness, or condition within a particular point or period of time (Friis & Sellers, 2014). With these figures, prevalence research designs aid an epidemiologist in finding the public health needs or the burden of a disease as it pertains to a particular condition. The burden of disease on a population can often be measured in terms of costs or morbidity (Jager, Zoccali, Kramar, & Dekker, 2007). An example of where prevalence may be a better indicator of disease burden than incidence can be found when studying chronic illness, such as chronic kidney disease (CDK). CDK is a global issue where in the burden lies with the high economic cost associated with treatment to both the healthcare industry and those afflicted, coupled with the increasing aging population (Hill, Fatoba, Oke, Hirst, O’Callaghan, Lasserson, & Hobbs, 2016). CDK has also been found to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) (Hill, Fatoba, Oke, Hirst, O’Callaghan, Lasserson, & Hobbs, 2016). The burden of CDK is a high-cost issue among global healthcare systems. With CDK at such a high prevalence in the population and existing evidence that intervention is effective in reducing CVD events illustrates the need for additional initiatives that will slow the progression of CDK to end-stage renal disease and reduce CVD-related events in CKD patients (Hill, Fatoba, Oke, Hirst, O’Callaghan, Lasserson, & Hobbs, 2016).

The measure of the incidence of a disease refers to the rate of occurrence of new cases within a population and does not take into account those individuals already living or dying of the disease (Friis & Sellers, 2014). Incidence is useful when one is studying the etiology, causes, or risks associated with a disease. So for example, when studying breast cancer, one may review the incidence of breast cancer among women who are between the ages of 40-50 in comparison to those with breast cancer whose ages are 50 and over. The incidence of breast cancer increases with age, doubling every 10 years until a woman is of menopause age, after which the increase drastically decreases (McPherson, Steel, & Dixon, 2000). In addition, one may also review geographical variation to determine whether genetic or environmental factors are contributing to the incident of breast cancer found among different global locations. As a result, it is believed that about 55% of the global burden in relationship to breast cancer is currently experienced in developed countries, but incidence rates are rapidly rising in developing countries (Ferlay, Héry, Autier, & Sankaranarayanan, 2010). Analytical studies conducted have examined the reproductive habits, hormonal patterns, and dietary habits of developing countries and clearly, suggest an important role of environmental factors in the etiology of breast cancer.