Am J Epidemiol 2002; 156:684.
Copyright © 2002 by the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
BOOK REVIEWS |
From the Editor: The First Epidemiology Textbook?
In a recent issue of this Journal, two new epidemiology textbooks were reviewed (1, 2). According to Barrett-Connor, the reviewer of the second book, more than 50 introductory texts on the subject are now in print. This set me to thinking about the first such volume. To my knowledge, it is Major Greenwood’s classic, Epidemics and Crowd-Diseases: An Introduction to the Study of Epidemiology (3), which was published in 1935. Incidentally, Major was not a military title but rather a traditional given name in Greenwood’s family. According to Greenwood, the book was based on his lectures to professional students at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), but Greenwood was writing for a wider audience. As he put it, "I have tried to cater for a wider circle of readers than present or future members of the public health services, viz. all educated men and women interested in the communal aspects of health and disease" (3, p. 9). It is noteworthy that, in the preface, Greenwood acknowledges helpful criticism from his LSHTM colleague, Bradford Hill.
The book is formally divided into two parts: Part I. General Principles and Methods, and Part II. Special Illustrations. About half of Part I (67 pages) is devoted to an engaging historical treatment. In the first several pages, definitions and arguments are provided to justify the inclusion of material too often defined as "medical history" as background for epidemiology and statistics. After a couple of chapters admittedly tangential, Greenwood concludes Part I with three fascinating chapters on what he calls "Procatarctic Factors—Nutrition, Occupation, and Psychological" (3, pp. 98–134). By procatarctic causes, Greenwood means "habits of life" (3, p. 98). Greenwood’s discussion of nutrition, occupation, and psychological factors is thought provoking and prescient.
In Part II, the author deals with particular disease entities. However, in the very first paragraph, he makes clear the limitations of his presentation: "My definition of epidemiology covers a still wider field of events; as it appears to me, a complete treatise would deal with every ‘disease’ from the point of view of the crowd . . . ; all I will attempt is a selection of what seem to me representative cases" (3, p. 137). Fourteen short chapters deal with common (at the time of his writing) infectious diseases (three chapters are devoted to Jenner and controversies regarding the efficacy of vaccination). The book concludes with an interesting chapter on cancer.
For me, this is an inspirational book, reflecting, as it does, the devotion, commitment, insight, and expertise of one of the leading statistician-epidemiologists of the 20th century.
REFERENCES
- Rothman KJ. Epidemiology: an introduction. (Book review). Am J Epidemiol 2002;156:188–90.
[Free Full Text] - Olsen J, Saracci R, Trichopoulos D, eds. Teaching epidemiology, a guide for teachers in epidemiology, public health and clinical medicine. 2nd ed. (Book review). Am J Epidemiol 2002;156:190–1.
[Free Full Text] - Greenwood M. Epidemics and crowd-diseases: an introduction to the study of epidemiology. London, United Kingdom: Williams & Norgate, LTD, 1935.
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