ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, COURTNEY KEATING
Epidemiology, the study of both communicable and chronic disease epidemics, is the basic science undergirding public health and preventive medicine, much as anatomy informs surgery. This fundamental supporting science provides data and theories essential for the intelligent management of public health. We might suspect that smoking is unhealthy, but what is the risk of spending an hour inside a room filled with cigarette smoke, compared to waiting for the same amount of time at a busy bus station, breathing diesel fumes? Epidemiological studies may not give a precise answer to this question but can certainly provide general principles, and can increasingly contribute to quantifying risks.
No science is an island, including epidemiology, which is naturally influenced by wider scientific knowledge and technological advances. In some ...
