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American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 154, No. 7 : 682
Copyright © 2001 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

BOOK REVIEWS

From the Editor

Warren Winkelstein, Jr.

Molecular epidemiology, seroepidemiology, clinical epidemiology, ecoepidemiology, genetic epidemiology, infectious disease epidemiology, descriptive and analytical epidemiology—the list goes on! How many kinds of epidemiology are there? Is each a separate discipline? Few epidemiologists would answer the last question in the affirmative. Still, some consider themselves as belonging to one or another subdiscipline, for example, infectious disease, clinical, or social epidemiology. Such adjectival descriptors are often helpful in identifying a field of concentration, the locus of action, or the frame of reference of the particular epidemiologist. However, such designations should not obscure the fundamental function of epidemiology, namely, "the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control of health problems" (1Go, p. 62).

"Molecular epidemiology," the latest laboratory tool for understanding pathobiologic phenomena, provides epidemiologists with a powerful addition to their armamentarium of measurement modalities. In this issue of the Journal, Dr. Lee Riley reviews a much-needed guide to applying this tool to the epidemiologic study of infectious diseases (2Go). Readers may be interested to know that the first known use of the laboratory in an epidemiologic study was by Sir George Baker, who employed a Dr. Saunders to analyze specimens of cider for their lead content in his classic study of the "endemial colic of Devonshire" (3Go).

REFERENCES

  1. Last JM, Spasoff RA, Harris SS, et al, eds. A dictionary of epidemiology. 4th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001.
  2. Thompson RCA, ed. Molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases. London, United Kingdom: Arnold, 2000.
  3. Baker G. An essay concerning the cause of the endemial colic of Devonshire. London, United Kingdom: J. Hughs, 1767:35–45.

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This Article
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