3. Prevalence

3.1. Calculating Prevalence

In epidemiology we actually have three different ways to calculate the prevalence:

  • Point prevalence: the number of cases of a health event at a certain time. For example, in a survey you would be asked if you are currently smoking.

  • Period prevalence: the number of cases of a health event in reference to a time period, often 12 months. For example, in a survey you would be asked if you have smoked during the past 12 months.

  • Lifetime prevalence: the number of cases of the health event in reference to the total lifetime. For example, in a survey, you would be asked if you have ever smoked.