epidemiology

epidemiology /ep·i·de·mi·ol·o·gy/ (-de″me-ol´ah-je) the science concerned with the study of the factors determining and influencing the frequency and distribution of disease, injury, and other health-related events and their causes in a defined human population. Also, the sum of knowledge gained in such a study.

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ep·i·de·mi·ol·o·gy (p-dm-l-j, -dm-)

n.

The branch of medicine that deals with the study of the causes, distribution, and control of disease in populations.

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epi·demi·olo·gist n.

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epidemiology

[-dē′mē·ol′əjē]

Etymology: Gk, epi + demos, people, logos, science

the study of the determinants of disease events in populations. epidemiologic, adj.

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epidemiology [ep″ĭ-de″me-ol´o-je]

the science concerned with the study of the factors determining and influencing the frequency and distribution of disease, injury, and other health-related events and their causes in a defined human population for the purpose of establishing programs to prevent and control their development and spread. Also, the sum of knowledge gained in such a study.

analytic epidemiology the second stage in an epidemiologic study, in which hypotheses generated in the descriptive phase are tested.

descriptive epidemiology the first stage in an epidemiologic study, in which a disease that has occurred is examined. Data necessary in this phase include time and place of occurrence and the characteristics of the persons affected. Tentative theories regarding the cause of the disease are advanced and a hypothesis is formulated.

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epidemiology (eˈ·p·dē·mē·ˑ·l·jē),

n the study of the causes and spread of disease within a population. Commonly, the findings are reported for the benefit of public health.

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epidemiology (ep´idē´mēol´jē),

n the science of epidemics and epidemic diseases, which involve the total population rather than the in-dividual. The aim of epidemiology is to determine those factors in the group environment that make the group more or less susceptible to disease.

epidemiology, indices in,

n.pl the data collection tools that aid in the measurement and evaluation of disease indicators and conditions; classification systems featuring numbered scales against which a specific population may be compared.

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epidemiology

1. the study of the relationships of various factors determining the frequency and distribution of diseases in a community.

2. the field of veterinary medicine dealing with the determination of specific causes of localized outbreaks of infection, toxic poisoning, or other disease of recognized etiology.

3. the study of disease in communities.

4. Called also epizootiology.

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analytical epidemiology

statistical analysis of epidemiological data in an attempt to establish relationships between causative factors and incidence of disease.

descriptive epidemiology

information about the occurrence of a disease, some of it mathematical, but with no attempt to establish relationships between cause and effect.

experimental epidemiology

prospective population experiments designed to test epidemiological hypotheses, and usually attempt to relate the postulated cause to the observed effect. Trials of new anthelmintics are an example.

gum-boots epidemiology

see shoe-leather epidemiology (below).

landscape epidemiology

epidemiology of a disease in relation to the entire ecosystem under study.

observational epidemiology

based on clinical and field observations, not on experiments.

shoe-leather epidemiology

epidemiology conducted as a field study. Called also gum-boots epidemiology.

theoretical epidemiology

the use of mathematical models to explain and examine aspects of epidemiology, e.g. computer simulation models of outbreaks.

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epidemiology

A branch of health science that deals with the incidence, prevalence, distribution and aetiology of disease in a population.

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epidemiology

1. The study of the distribution of disease and its impact upon a population, using such measures as incidence, prevalence, or mortality 2. The study of the occurrence and causes of health effects in human populations 3. The science of public health, which studies the frequency, distribution, and causes of diseases in a population–rather than in an individual, and examines the impact of social and physical factors in the environment on morbid conditions. See AIDS epidemiology, Analytical epidemiology, Cancer epidemiology, Clinical epidemiology, Developmental epidemiology, Intersecting epidemiology, Inverted epidemiology, Prospective epidemiology, Retrospective epidemiology.