Epidemiology is the method used to find health outcomes and causes of diseases in a population. In epidemiology, the patient or population is the community and individuals are viewed collectively. In epidemiology, the patient or population is the community and individuals are viewed collectively. By definition, epidemiology is the study (scientific, systematic, and objective) of human processes with the goal of explaining human health and disease patterns and trends. As a discipline, epidemiology also encompasses the collection and analysis of data to address problems or questions about health and disease, risk assessment methods, strategies and interventions for improvement, and management of disease patterns. It is applied across many fields of medicine, including public health, nutrition, dentistry, psychology, and nursing among others.
The history of the field goes beyond the 1900s as it has been utilized by researchers worldwide from early on to modern times. The practice dates back to at least the 19th century but was formally introduced to scientific papers and publication during the mid-20th century. In 1950, the first research article titled “The Relationship between Disease and Nutrition Among Women” was published, laying one foundation towards future studies.
In the beginning, there were already theories that the relationship between food and nutrition and health and how it affects health had begun to be explored. However, no practical steps were taken forward until further evidence was collected and collected and then published in books and journals. This was further highlighted when some notable articles like “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Food-Nutrition Therapy for Heart Failure” and “Nutritional Intervention in Cardiac Rehabilitation” among others received international recognition. These peer-reviewed publications contributed to the popularity of this area by making it more accessible as new knowledge and findings are continuously being discovered.
These concepts and definitions provided an understanding for a generalization of these principles and eventually led to additional study questions. As new knowledge was identified on its own, some questions arose on how the information should be interpreted and what would constitute the best approach. Thus, medical professionals began to use statistical data and graphs in their work and publications to support the claims and hypotheses made. Eventually, epidemiology came into existence and became a formal educational or research discipline of its own. During those initial years, only certain groups of people could get a chance to participate in research, which leads us to believe that even within such specific boundaries, it can continue evolving indefinitely in terms of coverage and scope.
While this may seem somewhat vague given all the advances in technology and progress that have occurred over the last several decades, here are some examples of how epidemiology continues to develop and advance over time and why.
One example would be analyzing the concept of tobacco smoking and whether there is enough evidence to support or refute the claim that smoking reduces the chances of developing lung cancer, heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and other disease-associated conditions. Since statistics show a higher incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory illnesses than ever before, scientists are looking into the cause of this increase and identifying the possible factors that will lead them to identify solutions and interventions in order to curb this problem. Once they understand that, they will likely start to look for ways to reduce the number of smokers or possibly even quit altogether. But that does not happen overnight. Such situations are usually due to continuous advancements of knowledge and research that help pinpoint the exact mechanism and solution in order to prevent further harm. Also, epidemiological research helps pinpoint potential changes that a society might want to make to protect the population. A good example would be implementing policies like smoke-free environments to reduce the exposure to passive smokers, improving school ventilation systems, increasing awareness of various types of smoking, and providing better access to cessation services.
A similar example is the introduction of vaccines for measles and polio, which has helped eradicate these diseases but resulted in milder versions of these diseases. To counteract this, many countries have implemented different policies around vaccination or prevention of both, such as reducing the amount of exposure to sick animals, monitoring infected areas more closely, using vaccines to increase herd immunity, implementing effective surveillance systems, and much more. Overall, although we may see some minor differences due to geographical barriers or cultural beliefs, the overall effect on global society is positive.
Another example would be detecting breast cancer at its earliest stages and preventing it from spreading through regular screenings, reducing mortality rates as well as associated costs. Although many women have been told by doctors not to get screened due to the risks involved, there is still a strong push to encourage this screening, even if at a later stage of the disease before much damage is done. We now know that mammography has the highest success rate of any screening test. Not only is it a proven way to detect breast cancer, but it is also an inexpensive way to treat it at a low cost. Furthermore, this particular method works similarly to surgery or radiation therapy when combined accordingly. If found at the right stage, the same treatment should result in a 99% decrease in mortality and an overall reduction of the amount of health care expenses. Therefore, such technologies should be considered when deciding on screening or diagnostic procedures. Overall, the results we are seeing in both cases are very promising: while the cancer patients and their families need to undergo additional tests and treatments at later stages, the long term benefit for everyone will outweigh the short time frame that it takes for the technology to be available.
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