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The term "epidemiology" appears to have first been used to describe the study of epidemics in 1802 by the Spanish physician Joaquín de Villalba in Epidemiología Española. [4] Epidemiologists also study the interaction of diseases in a population, a condition known as a syndemic.
Epidemiological (and other observational) studies typically highlight associations between exposures and outcomes, rather than causation. While some consider this a limitation of observational research, epidemiological models of causation (e.g. Bradford Hill criteria) [7] contend that an entire body of evidence is needed before determining if an association is truly causal. [8]
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An epidemic curve, also known as an epi curve or epidemiological curve, is a statistical chart used in epidemiology to visualise the onset of a disease outbreak. It can help with the identification of the mode of transmission of the disease. It can also show the disease's magnitude, whether cases are clustered or if there are individual case ...
The Plague of Athens (c. 1652 –1654) by Michiel Sweerts, illustrating the devastating epidemic that struck Athens in 430 BC, as described by the historian Thucydides. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines epidemic broadly: "Epidemic refers to an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population in ...
In epidemiology, the term is often used by both scientists and journalists alike to refer to the individual known or believed to have been the first infected or source of the resulting outbreak in a population as the index case, but such would technically refer to the primary case.
The terms "outbreak" and "epidemic" have often been used interchangeably. Researchers Manfred S. Green and colleagues propose that the latter term be restricted to larger events, pointing out that Chambers Concise Dictionary and Stedman's Medical Dictionary acknowledge this distinction.
Prevalence is a term that means being widespread and it is distinct from incidence. Prevalence is a measurement of all individuals affected by the disease at a particular time, whereas incidence is a measurement of the number of new individuals who contract a disease during a particular period of time.