Epidemiology

[ep-i-dee-mee-ol-uh-jee]

pronunciation

Etymology

Epi (upon)

The word “epidemiology” originates from the Greek words;

Demos (people)

Logy (study of)

(The study of the origin of words)

DefinitionMerriam-Webster:

1 : a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population

2 : the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or pathogen

Definition

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control health problems.

Definition

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control health problems.

Definition

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control health problems.

Definition

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control health problems.

Definition

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control health problems.

Definition

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control health problems.

What is Epidemiology?• The “basic science” and “backbone” of public health• A powerful tool for studying community health

conditions• The practice of “population medicine”• An interdisciplinary field that draws from the social,

behavioral & mathematical sciences as well as from the medical fields of toxicology, pathology, genetics, microbiology and clinical medicine

Scope of Epidemiology

Scope of Epidemiology• As defined by disease;

– Infectious disease– Cardiovascular disease– Cancer– Reproductive disease– Chronic disease– Psychiatric disease

Scope of Epidemiology• As defined by exposure;

– Environmental Epidemiology– Behavioral Epidemiology– Nutritional Epidemiology– Pharmacoepidemiology– Injury Epidemiology

Historical Antecedents of Epidemiology

• The wrath of the gods• Miasma• Humors• Germs• Etiologic agents• Determinants

Foundations of Epidemiology

Dr. John Snow

The “Father of Epidemiology”