Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and <a href="/facts/Risk_factor_(epidemiology)/N0YTUyer">determinants</a> of health and disease conditions in a defined <a href="/facts/Population/ArxshNuB">population</a>, and application of this knowledge to prevent diseases.
It is a cornerstone of <a href="/facts/Public_health/4563Kre9">public health</a>, and shapes policy decisions and <a href="/facts/Evidence-based_practice/sU7RdtkN">evidence-based practice</a> by identifying <a href="/facts/Risk_factor_(epidemiology)/N0YTUyer">risk factors</a> for disease and targets for <a href="/facts/Preventive_healthcare/pWGlacXu">preventive healthcare</a>. Epidemiologists help with study design, collection, and <a href="/facts/Statistical_analysis/sJLjubxm">statistical analysis</a> of data, amend interpretation and dissemination of results (including <a href="/facts/Peer_review/ly6yEgcW">peer review</a> and occasional <a href="/facts/Systematic_review/dGvq3BGx">systematic review</a>). Epidemiology has helped develop <a href="/facts/Methodology/dk5X9Hxx">methodology</a> used in <a href="/facts/Clinical_research/oYdnAryH">clinical research</a>, <a href="/facts/Public_health/4563Kre9">public health</a> studies, and, to a lesser extent, <a href="/facts/Basic_research/QvrBkrRb">basic research</a> in the biological sciences.
Major areas of epidemiological study include disease causation, <a href="/facts/Transmission_(medicine)/sSGEGhcd">transmission</a>, <a href="/facts/Outbreak/CBLtnobw">outbreak</a> investigation, <a href="/facts/Disease_surveillance/bmBGVw9V">disease surveillance</a>, <a href="/facts/Environmental_epidemiology/9I1A7TJf">environmental epidemiology</a>, <a href="/facts/Forensic_epidemiology/kEhgy4KU">forensic epidemiology</a>, <a href="/facts/Occupational_epidemiology/ETwpaFRh">occupational epidemiology</a>, <a href="/facts/Screening_(medicine)/YhrXum3t">screening</a>, <a href="/facts/Biomonitoring/BUBm6Lsw">biomonitoring</a>, and comparisons of treatment effects such as in <a href="/facts/Clinical_trials/q8LMr832">clinical trials</a>. Epidemiologists rely on other scientific disciplines like <a href="/facts/Biology/1M1ee3pB">biology</a> to better understand disease processes, <a href="/facts/Statistics/DNPsKGYU">statistics</a> to make efficient use of the data and draw appropriate conclusions, <a href="/facts/Social_science/hAbm1xtD">social sciences</a> to better understand proximate and distal causes, and <a href="/facts/Engineering/RFVg8H3I">engineering</a> for <a href="/facts/Exposure_assessment/WmnqSNdn">exposure assessment</a>.
Epidemiology, literally meaning "the study of what is upon the people", is derived from <a href="/facts/Greek_language/pzDd6eIz">Greek</a> epi 'upon, among' <a href="/facts/Glossary_of_rhetorical_terms/gxg3nMgE">demos</a> 'people, district' and <a href="/facts/Logos/Qt6QL1Hs">logos</a> 'study, word, discourse', suggesting that it applies only to human populations. However, the term is widely used in studies of zoological populations (veterinary epidemiology), although the term "<a href="/facts/Epizoology/mCBH4osg">epizoology</a>" is available, and it has also been applied to studies of plant populations (botanical or <a href="/facts/Plant_disease_epidemiology/hIVYdLsR">plant disease epidemiology</a>).
The distinction between "epidemic" and "endemic" was first drawn by <a href="/facts/Hippocrates/lXUElFQD">Hippocrates</a>, to distinguish between diseases that are "visited upon" a population (epidemic) from those that "reside within" a population (endemic). The term "epidemiology" appears to have first been used to describe the study of epidemics in 1802 by the Spanish physician Joaquín de Villalba [es] in Epidemiología Española. Epidemiologists also study the interaction of diseases in a population, a condition known as a <a href="/facts/Syndemic/2eKbeWX6">syndemic</a>.
The term epidemiology is now widely applied to cover the description and causation of not only epidemic, infectious disease, but of disease in general, including related conditions. Some examples of topics examined through epidemiology include as high blood pressure, mental illness and <a href="/facts/Obesity/RBF9y5Vl">obesity</a>. Therefore, this epidemiology is based upon how the pattern of the disease causes change in the function of human beings.

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Epidemiology