Prevalence
Prevalence
The proportion of a defined population with an existing condition at a specified point in time: current cases divided by the population at that time.
How to read it
Check year, population and whether cases were diagnosed in routine care or detected by screening. Period prevalence includes people affected at any time during an interval and differs from point prevalence.
A common pitfall
Rising prevalence may reflect more new cases, better detection or longer survival. A high-risk older cohort does not represent an entire country.
Reading 96 cases per 100,000
At the specified time, approximately 96 of every 100,000 people in the studied population have the condition. This is neither annual incidence nor lifetime risk.
Diagnosed prevalence counts recognized, recorded disease and may differ substantially from true prevalence when disease is missed.
Read it in context
Related readings will be added as the collection grows.