Incidence is the quality of what is related to frequency or the amount with which something happens. It is directly related to the regularity with which an action takes place or is incident.
Example:
The incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever cases in Brazil has increased.
The incidence of sunlight has increased approximately 50% in the last year.
Still, when referring to an action, the incidence may have the meaning of falling back, affecting or reaching something or someone.
Example:
I just read in the newspaper that the government must propose the levying of a tax on individuals.
The term can still refer to meeting something with a surface.
Example:
That night there was a flash of light in the sky.
Incidence can also be used by Statistics to refer to the number of new cases that have arisen in a given population, in a given time interval.
In the first quarter of the year there was an increase in the incidence of flu cases in the southern region.
What is incidence for Justice?
In the scope of Law, incidence means the relationship that exists between a fact that happened and what the law says about it. That is, the legal impact is the application of a determination of the law to a concrete situation.
For example, in Criminal Law, the crime of murder falls under Article 121 of the Penal Code. This means that Article 121 provides a penalty for the act of killing someone.
In Tax Law, the incidence is the act of falling on a person the responsibility for payment of a tax obligation provided for by law.
For example: On the purchase of a property, the Tax on the Transfer of Real Estate (ITBI) is levied.
Incidence and Prevalence
In the field of Medicine, specifically in the area of Epidemiology, the incidence is related to the occurrence of cases of disease.
In this context, there may be confusion between the concepts of incidence and prevalence. The latter consists of measuring the total number of people who are sick, while the incidence indicates the number of people who have become sick (new cases).
Both involve space and time, that is, who is or was sick in a certain place and at a given time.
Incidence synonyms
The term, which derives from the Latin incident, can also be replaced by synonyms such as:
- event;
- occurrence;
- existence;
- application;
- relapse;
- meeting;
- junction;
- competition;
- convergence;
- coincidence;
- confluence.
Also read the meaning of Coincidence.