epidemiology

[ ep-i-dee-mee-ol-uh-jee, -dem-ee- ]

noun

1. the study, assessment, and analysis of public health concerns in a given population; the tracking of patterns and effects of diseases, environmental toxins, natural disasters, violence, terrorist attacks, etc.:

   Without the profiles gleaned through epidemiology, our health agencies would be at a terrible loss when something like COVID-19 emerges.

epidemiology

/ ˌɛpɪˌdiːmɪˈɒlədʒɪ; ˌɛpɪˌdiːmɪəˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

noun

1. the branch of medical science concerned with the occurrence, transmission, and control of epidemic diseases

epidemiology

/ ĕp′ĭ-dē′mē-ŏl′ə-jē /

1. The scientific study of the causes, distribution, and control of disease in populations.

Derived Forms

• ˌepiˌdemiˈologist, noun
• epidemiological, adjective
• ˌepiˌdemioˈlogically, adverb

Other Words From

• ep·i·de·mi·o·log·i·cal [ep-i-dee-mee-, uh, -, loj, -i-k, uh, l, -dem-ee-], adjective
• ep·i·de·mi·o·log·i·cal·ly adverb
• ep·i·de·mi·ol·o·gist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of epidemiology¹

First recorded in 1870–75; epidemi(c) + -o- + -logy

Example Sentences

Albert Ko is a professor and chair of epidemiology of microbial diseases at the Yale School of Public Health.

From Fortune

“That’s way too slow,” said George Rutherford, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine.

From ProPublica

Albert Ko is professor and department chair, epidemiology of microbial disease, at Yale School of Public Health, and professor of infectious diseases at Yale School of Medicine.

From Fortune

We brought in scores of experts from infectious disease, epidemiology, public health, laboratory medicine, all these different areas to try to help us design and prepare what we think is the most up-to-date information.

From Freakonomics

In cities across the US—ranging from Boston, Massachusetts in the northeast to Las Vegas, Nevada in the southwest—scientists are working with public health officials to conduct wastewater-based epidemiology.

From Quartz

For an article in the Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology, the author must fork over $650 for “handling.”

From The Daily Beast

Cuse: From a story standpoint, I felt the critical goal in the first part of the show was to focus on the epidemiology.

From The Daily Beast

The epidemiology of polio is simple to understand—as simple as seeing the inevitability of the major crisis we have before us.

From The Daily Beast

That brings us to the usual problem: cancer epidemiology is extremely complex.

From The Daily Beast

Epidemiology of Gestational Weight Gain and Body Weight Changes After Pregnancy.

From The Daily Beast

The work of the modern fathers of epidemiology was consciously based on Hippocrates.

From Project Gutenberg

It is in this chapter that the epidemiology comes into closest contact with social and economic history.

From Project Gutenberg

Its place is indeed unique among epidemic diseases; it is the oldest and most obdurate of all the problems in epidemiology.

From Project Gutenberg

He saw that influenza was the crux of epidemiology, and paid special attention to it.

From Project Gutenberg

This theory was based upon the geographical distribution and epidemiology of the disease.

From Project Gutenberg