Laying The Foundations: The Epidemiologic Approach To Disease

Abstract

Abstract Epidemiology is concerned with the patterns of disease occurrence in human populations and the factors that influence these patterns. Epidemiologists are primarily interested in the occurrence of disease as categorized by time, place, and persons. They try to determine whether there has been an increase or decrease of the disease over the years, whether one geographical area has a higher frequency of the disease than another, and whether the characteristics of persons with a particular disease or condition distinguish them from those without it.