94-758: The International Epidemiological Association ( IEA ) is a worldwide association with more than 2000 members in over 100 different countries, who follow the aims of the association to facilitate communication amongst those engaged in research and teaching of epidemiology throughout the world, and to encourage its use in all fields of health including social, community and preventative medicine. These aims are achieved by holding scientific meetings and seminars, by publication of journals, reports, translations of books, by contact amongst members and by other activities consistent with these aims. Members are accepted without regard to race, religion, sex, political affiliation or country of origin. The association publishes its own Journal,
188-580: A pioneer in the history of comics for creating several cartoons which make use of narrative sequence and speech balloons . He was born in 1789 in Middlesex , where he and his brother George attended school in Edgware . Both brothers were interested in the theatre, and performed in dramas they had written themselves with their friend Edmund Kean . Isaac joined the Loyal North Britons,
282-437: A causal association does not exist in general. Conversely, it can be (and is in some circumstances) taken by US courts, in an individual case, to justify an inference that a causal association does exist, based upon a balance of probability . The subdiscipline of forensic epidemiology is directed at the investigation of specific causation of disease or injury in individuals or groups of individuals in instances in which causation
376-498: A health system responds to current population health issues but also how a health system can be managed to better respond to future potential population health issues. Examples of organizations that use population-based health management that leverage the work and results of epidemiological practice include Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control, Health Canada Tobacco Control Programs, Rick Hansen Foundation, Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative. Each of these organizations uses
470-521: A lesser extent, basic research in the biological sciences. Major areas of epidemiological study include disease causation, transmission , outbreak investigation, disease surveillance , environmental epidemiology , forensic epidemiology , occupational epidemiology , screening , biomonitoring , and comparisons of treatment effects such as in clinical trials . Epidemiologists rely on other scientific disciplines like biology to better understand disease processes, statistics to make efficient use of
564-787: A population (endemic). The term "epidemiology" appears to have first been used to describe the study of epidemics in 1802 by the Spanish physician Joaquín de Villalba [ es ] in Epidemiología Española . Epidemiologists also study the interaction of diseases in a population, a condition known as a syndemic . The term epidemiology is now widely applied to cover the description and causation of not only epidemic, infectious disease, but of disease in general, including related conditions. Some examples of topics examined through epidemiology include as high blood pressure, mental illness and obesity . Therefore, this epidemiology
658-520: A population-based health management framework called Life at Risk that combines epidemiological quantitative analysis with demographics, health agency operational research and economics to perform: Applied epidemiology is the practice of using epidemiological methods to protect or improve the health of a population. Applied field epidemiology can include investigating communicable and non-communicable disease outbreaks, mortality and morbidity rates, and nutritional status, among other indicators of health, with
752-478: A prominent part in, 23 Seminars or Workshops on epidemiology in 19 different countries. These were often conducted in association with the WHO. The association only undertakes to organize or participate in seminars at the invitation of the national or local educational or governmental bodies concerned. In 1969 a decision was taken to produce a guide on the teaching of epidemiology which would be suitable for use throughout
846-422: A prospective study, and confounders are more easily controlled for. However, they are more costly, and there is a greater chance of losing subjects to follow-up based on the long time period over which the cohort is followed. Cohort studies also are limited by the same equation for number of cases as for cohort studies, but, if the base incidence rate in the study population is very low, the number of cases required
940-475: A publication to commemorate its 50th anniversary called "History of Modern Epidemiology" in addition to supporting three editions of the publication Teaching Epidemiology Teaching Epidemiology: A guide for teachers in epidemiology, public health and clinical medicine . The IEA offers a free copy of one of the first two publications as an incentive for life-time (10-years) or 3-year membership. The IEA also comments on current topical issues in epidemiology through
1034-402: A random sample from the original population at risk. This has as a consequence that the control group can contain people with the disease under study when the disease has a high attack rate in a population. A major drawback for case control studies is that, in order to be considered to be statistically significant, the minimum number of cases required at the 95% confidence interval is related to
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#17327826413571128-726: A result three seminars on epidemiology were later organized by the IEA in that country. This marked the beginning of a series of seminars in the South American continent and the Caribbean area. The Milbank Memorial Fund helped to make this extensive series of seminars possible and the WHO , through the Pan American Health Organization , also cooperated in these seminars. By 1977 the IEA had organized, or played
1222-496: A series of "London Characters" in 1827. Amongst his other illustrations are some notable ones for Miguel de Cervantes ' classic novel Don Quixote de la Mancha . They are not as well known as those of William Hogarth or Gustave Doré ; however, they can be viewed online at the Quijote Banco de Images . Another is a satirical comment on the marriage of the elderly Grizell , sister of Samuel Hoare Jr. , to William Allen ;
1316-523: A series of online "rapid response" commentaries EpiBlog « IEA . A decision was taken at the Sixth International Meeting in 1971 to found an international quarterly journal of epidemiology. The council believed that the journal could replace the old Bulletin in providing a link between members in intervals between international meetings by publishing association news, and serve a valuable purpose by publishing original articles in
1410-445: A unique disease process different from any other individual ("the unique disease principle"), considering uniqueness of the exposome (a totality of endogenous and exogenous / environmental exposures) and its unique influence on molecular pathologic process in each individual. Studies to examine the relationship between an exposure and molecular pathologic signature of disease (particularly cancer ) became increasingly common throughout
1504-474: A volunteer military unit, rising to the rank of sergeant when the volunteers turned out in 1803. During adolescence, both brothers attended boxing and fencing matches, cock-fights, and numerous tavern contests. Cruikshank gained a midshipman 's commission in the East India Company 's ship Perseverance . Midshipman Cruikshank did not get on with his captain, and returning on his maiden voyage he
1598-399: Is a core component, that is unified with management science to provide efficient and effective health care and health guidance to a population. This task requires the forward-looking ability of modern risk management approaches that transform health risk factors, incidence, prevalence and mortality statistics (derived from epidemiological analysis) into management metrics that not only guide how
1692-485: Is a cornerstone of public health , and shapes policy decisions and evidence-based practice by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive healthcare . Epidemiologists help with study design, collection, and statistical analysis of data, amend interpretation and dissemination of results (including peer review and occasional systematic review ). Epidemiology has helped develop methodology used in clinical research , public health studies, and, to
1786-491: Is awarded to an epidemiologist of the highest scientific standard. The recipient is honored for his/her scientific achievements that have advanced our understanding of the determinants of a disease of importance for health in populations through a body of research that may involve a series of studies, rather than a single publication. The prize winner is selected by a committee which includes current IEA president, president-elect, past-president in addition to two members appointed by
1880-428: Is based upon how the pattern of the disease causes change in the function of human beings. The Greek physician Hippocrates , taught by Democritus, was known as the father of medicine , sought a logic to sickness; he is the first person known to have examined the relationships between the occurrence of disease and environmental influences. Hippocrates believed sickness of the human body to be caused by an imbalance of
1974-479: Is beyond the domain of the science of epidemiology. Epidemiology has its limits at the point where an inference is made that the relationship between an agent and a disease is causal (general causation) and where the magnitude of excess risk attributed to the agent has been determined; that is, epidemiology addresses whether an agent can cause disease, not whether an agent did cause a specific plaintiff's disease. In United States law, epidemiology alone cannot prove that
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#17327826413572068-483: Is disputed or is unclear, for presentation in legal settings. Epidemiological practice and the results of epidemiological analysis make a significant contribution to emerging population-based health management frameworks. Population-based health management encompasses the ability to: Modern population-based health management is complex, requiring a multiple set of skills (medical, political, technological, mathematical, etc.) of which epidemiological practice and analysis
2162-537: Is famous for his investigations into the causes of the 19th-century cholera epidemics, and is also known as the father of (modern) Epidemiology. He began with noticing the significantly higher death rates in two areas supplied by Southwark Company. His identification of the Broad Street pump as the cause of the Soho epidemic is considered the classic example of epidemiology. Snow used chlorine in an attempt to clean
2256-499: Is in the term inference . Correlation, or at least association between two variables, is a necessary but not sufficient criterion for the inference that one variable causes the other. Epidemiologists use gathered data and a broad range of biomedical and psychosocial theories in an iterative way to generate or expand theory, to test hypotheses, and to make educated, informed assertions about which relationships are causal, and about exactly how they are causal. Epidemiologists emphasize that
2350-418: Is increasing recognition that a wide range of modern data sources, many not originating from healthcare or epidemiology, can be used for epidemiological study. Such digital epidemiology can include data from internet searching, mobile phone records and retail sales of drugs. Epidemiologists employ a range of study designs from the observational to experimental and generally categorized as descriptive (involving
2444-404: Is reduced by 1 ⁄ 2 . Although epidemiology is sometimes viewed as a collection of statistical tools used to elucidate the associations of exposures to health outcomes, a deeper understanding of this science is that of discovering causal relationships. " Correlation does not imply causation " is a common theme for much of the epidemiological literature. For epidemiologists, the key
2538-521: Is typically determined using DNA from peripheral blood leukocytes. Since the 2000s, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been commonly performed to identify genetic risk factors for many diseases and health conditions. While most molecular epidemiology studies are still using conventional disease diagnosis and classification systems, it is increasingly recognized that disease progression represents inherently heterogeneous processes differing from person to person. Conceptually, each individual has
2632-439: Is used to describe the intersection of Host , Agent , and Environment in analyzing an outbreak. Case-series may refer to the qualitative study of the experience of a single patient, or small group of patients with a similar diagnosis, or to a statistical factor with the potential to produce illness with periods when they are unexposed. The former type of study is purely descriptive and cannot be used to make inferences about
2726-478: The International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE), which is published bi-monthly, a complimentary copy of which is included in the membership dues. It also sponsors a number of publications such as A Dictionary of Epidemiology , and The Development of Modern Epidemiology . In addition, the association organizes The World Congress of Epidemiology (WCE), which is held triennially in different parts of
2820-506: The WHO , by providing faculty members and resource material rather than funds. There was general support for continued regional development at the Seventh International Meeting and the first steps were taken towards the organization of further regional meetings. The previous council recommended that regional IEA councils covering the WHO regions should be established in order to stimulate recruitment of members and
2914-476: The " one cause – one effect " understanding is a simplistic mis-belief. Most outcomes, whether disease or death, are caused by a chain or web consisting of many component causes. Causes can be distinguished as necessary, sufficient or probabilistic conditions. If a necessary condition can be identified and controlled (e.g., antibodies to a disease agent, energy in an injury), the harmful outcome can be avoided (Robertson, 2015). One tool regularly used to conceptualize
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3008-459: The "who, what, where and when of health-related state occurrence". However, analytical observations deal more with the 'how' of a health-related event. Experimental epidemiology contains three case types: randomized controlled trials (often used for a new medicine or drug testing), field trials (conducted on those at a high risk of contracting a disease), and community trials (research on social originating diseases). The term 'epidemiologic triad'
3102-515: The 2000s. However, the use of molecular pathology in epidemiology posed unique challenges, including lack of research guidelines and standardized statistical methodologies, and paucity of interdisciplinary experts and training programs. Furthermore, the concept of disease heterogeneity appears to conflict with the long-standing premise in epidemiology that individuals with the same disease name have similar etiologies and disease processes. To resolve these issues and advance population health science in
3196-504: The 2010s. By 2012, it was recognized that many pathogens' evolution is rapid enough to be highly relevant to epidemiology, and that therefore much could be gained from an interdisciplinary approach to infectious disease integrating epidemiology and molecular evolution to "inform control strategies, or even patient treatment." Modern epidemiological studies can use advanced statistics and machine learning to create predictive models as well as to define treatment effects. There
3290-737: The Bulletin appeared in January 1955 and contained contributions from 26 correspondents from nine countries. Correspondents soon felt the need to meet to discuss research and teaching and the first formal meeting took place at the Ciba Foundation in London at the end of June 1956. By this time there were 49 correspondents from 18 countries, and one of them, A. Querido of Amsterdam invited the Club to hold its First International Scientific Meeting in
3384-525: The IEA Council. The prize is presented at the triennial WCE as $ 30,000 and a special plaque. The first prize has been conferred in 2008 to Prof Nubia Muñoz , while the second was awarded to Prof David Barker in 2011. Subsequent winners included Sir Richard Peto in 2014 George Davey Smith in 2017 and Cesar Victora in 2021. The IEA Executive Committee recently decided to create an International (worldwide) Early Career Epidemiologists group (ECE) within
3478-564: The IEA structure. A successful first meeting of ECE was held during the XIX IEA World Congress of Epidemiology (WCE) in Edinburgh (Scotland). The aims of this group are similar to those of the IEA, with a focus on identifying tools and opportunities to develop knowledge and careers for emerging professionals engaged in the field of epidemiology throughout the world. The IEA has decided to invest effort and resources in ensuring
3572-472: The International and Regional Scientific meetings. It is hoped that the IEA will be able to continue to play a part in the organization of seminars particularly in those parts of the world where epidemiology is not well developed. Owing to the lack of funds for this purpose such activities may have to be confined, for the present, to co-operation with national or international organizations, in particular
3666-591: The Netherlands. As a consequence a Study Group on Current Epidemiological Research, supported by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation , took place at Noordwijk in September 1957. There were 58 participants representing 44 university departments from 20 countries at this meeting. A constitution was formulated and the first executive committee was elected. The Noordwijk meeting was the first of
3760-560: The OR, a RR greater than 1 shows association, where the conclusion can be read "those with the exposure were more likely to develop the disease." Prospective studies have many benefits over case control studies. The RR is a more powerful effect measure than the OR, as the OR is just an estimation of the RR, since true incidence cannot be calculated in a case control study where subjects are selected based on disease status. Temporality can be established in
3854-533: The advances in epidemiologic methods that can enhance the role of epidemiology in clinical medicine and public health. These courses are addressed to epidemiologists, public health professionals, statisticians, and clinicians and include lectures, computer based analyses, exercises, discussion sessions, and practical experience in the design of a research proposal. The first course was held in Jaipur, India, in April 2009,
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3948-407: The assessment of data covering time, place, and person), analytic (aiming to further examine known associations or hypothesized relationships), and experimental (a term often equated with clinical or community trials of treatments and other interventions). In observational studies, nature is allowed to "take its course", as epidemiologists observe from the sidelines. Conversely, in experimental studies,
4042-476: The association to the participation in preparing the international ethical guidelines for epidemiological studies, recognized by WHO as a key reference. In 1966 the association was recognized by the WHO as a Non-Governmental Organization. In addition to representation at the World Health Assembly and regional committees, this affiliation contributed to excellent working relationships with WHO in
4136-414: The case control study. However, the point estimate generated is the relative risk (RR), which is the probability of disease for a person in the exposed group, P e = A / ( A + B ) over the probability of disease for a person in the unexposed group, P u = C / ( C + D ), i.e. RR = P e / P u . As with
4230-429: The causation of the disease. Case-control studies are usually faster and more cost-effective than cohort studies but are sensitive to bias (such as recall bias and selection bias ). The main challenge is to identify the appropriate control group; the distribution of exposure among the control group should be representative of the distribution in the population that gave rise to the cases. This can be achieved by drawing
4324-427: The cause-and-effect hypothesis and none can be required sine qua non ." Epidemiological studies can only go to prove that an agent could have caused, but not that it did cause, an effect in any particular case: Epidemiology is concerned with the incidence of disease in populations and does not address the question of the cause of an individual's disease. This question, sometimes referred to as specific causation,
4418-600: The classic texts sponsored by the IEA in collaboration with Oxford University Press is A Dictionary of Epidemiology Oxford University Press: A Dictionary of Epidemiology: Miquel Porta which remains the definitive dictionary in epidemiology worldwide. In fact, with contributions from over 220 epidemiologists and other users of epidemiology from around the globe, it is more than a dictionary: it includes explanations and comments on both core epidemiologic terms and on other scientific terms relevant to all professionals in clinical medicine and public health, as well as to professionals in
4512-551: The common goal of increasing accountability for progress towards the Millennium Development Goals for improving the health of mothers and children. In the earlier years of the IEA, British and North American members were in the majority, mainly because the association had its origins in the UK and US. The council of the association has always been very conscious of this tendency and made active efforts to broaden
4606-408: The communication between physicians working for the most part in university departments of preventive and social medicine, or in research institutes devoted to these aspects of medicine, throughout the world". This was to be achieved by the publication of a Bulletin twice a year and by members endeavouring to "ensure a friendly and hospitable welcome for visitors" from other countries. The first issue of
4700-518: The connectivity among ECE and thus facilitate the promulgation of opportunities for IEA training events, a mentoring scheme, and other activities which promote the advance and appropriate use of the epidemiological methods and its development in all regions. The educational work of the IEA has always been regarded as one of its most important functions. This will continue through the media of the International Journal of Epidemiology and
4794-931: The course is allied to the IEA-sponsored European Educational Programme in Epidemiology Programmes EEPE , annually held in Florence for three weeks every June/July, under the directorship of Rodolfo Saracci, for more than 2 decades. Thus, such course is intended as a "Florence South" course, run annually on a five-year cycle of the IEA regions outside of Europe and North America (South East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Africa, Latin America and Western Pacific). Introductory, intermediate and advance level courses are offered to provide epidemiologists and public health professionals an opportunity to become acquainted with
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#17327826413574888-445: The data and draw appropriate conclusions, social sciences to better understand proximate and distal causes, and engineering for exposure assessment . Epidemiology , literally meaning "the study of what is upon the people", is derived from Greek epi 'upon, among' demos 'people, district' and logos 'study, word, discourse', suggesting that it applies only to human populations. However,
4982-497: The disease to the cases in the series. A prospective study would involve following the case series over time to evaluate the disease's natural history. The latter type, more formally described as self-controlled case-series studies, divide individual patient follow-up time into exposed and unexposed periods and use fixed-effects Poisson regression processes to compare the incidence rate of a given outcome between exposed and unexposed periods. This technique has been extensively used in
5076-612: The epidemiologist is the one in control of all of the factors entering a certain case study. Epidemiological studies are aimed, where possible, at revealing unbiased relationships between exposures such as alcohol or smoking, biological agents , stress , or chemicals to mortality or morbidity . The identification of causal relationships between these exposures and outcomes is an important aspect of epidemiology. Modern epidemiologists use informatics and infodemiology as tools. Observational studies have two components, descriptive and analytical. Descriptive observations pertain to
5170-771: The era of molecular precision medicine , "molecular pathology" and "epidemiology" was integrated to create a new interdisciplinary field of " molecular pathological epidemiology " (MPE), defined as "epidemiology of molecular pathology and heterogeneity of disease". In MPE, investigators analyze the relationships between (A) environmental, dietary, lifestyle and genetic factors; (B) alterations in cellular or extracellular molecules; and (C) evolution and progression of disease. A better understanding of heterogeneity of disease pathogenesis will further contribute to elucidate etiologies of disease. The MPE approach can be applied to not only neoplastic diseases but also non-neoplastic diseases. The concept and paradigm of MPE have become widespread in
5264-414: The ex-officio members. The objectives of the IEA are to: These objectives are achieved through networking professionals working in the field of epidemiology through different means, including its website: www.IEAweb.org Home ; holding national, regional and international scientific meetings and congresses, as well as individual contacts between professional members. These have guided IEA's activities over
5358-571: The field and advanced methods to study cancer, a disease with patterns and mode of occurrences that could not be suitably studied with the methods developed for epidemics of infectious diseases. Geography pathology eventually combined with infectious disease epidemiology to make the field that is epidemiology today. Another breakthrough was the 1954 publication of the results of a British Doctors Study , led by Richard Doll and Austin Bradford Hill , which lent very strong statistical support to
5452-420: The field of epidemiology. Walter W. Holland was appointed the first editor in 1972. Between 2001 and 2016 under the editorship of George Davey Smith and Shah Ebrahim, the journal expanded. They introduced a number of new features and the positive effects of these changes are reflected in its improved impact factor (7.2 in 2015), which places it first among the international epidemiology journals. Six issues of
5546-405: The four humors (black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm). The cure to the sickness was to remove or add the humor in question to balance the body. This belief led to the application of bloodletting and dieting in medicine. He coined the terms endemic (for diseases usually found in some places but not in others) and epidemic (for diseases that are seen at some times but not others). In
5640-458: The general population of patients with that disease. These types of studies, in which an astute clinician identifies an unusual feature of a disease or a patient's history, may lead to a formulation of a new hypothesis. Using the data from the series, analytic studies could be done to investigate possible causal factors. These can include case-control studies or prospective studies. A case-control study would involve matching comparable controls without
5734-422: The increasing penetration of Epidemiology discipline. The growth and strengthening of Epidemiology discipline outside Western Europe and North America has also led to increase in bids to act as hosts for ISMs, now known as WCEs. In effort of enforcing the capacity building role of IEA and moving the 20-year-old Florence course to the south, IEA has started an annual short-course in epidemiological methods. Indeed,
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#17327826413575828-563: The journal are published every year. Stephen Leeder took over as editor in 2017. The association has a long tradition of collaboration with other organizations, particularly with the WHO and the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) and International Clinical Epidemiologic Network (INCLEN) Inclen . The IEA became affiliated with the CIOMS in 1955 and was represented on its executive committee. This affiliation led
5922-575: The link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer . In the late 20th century, with the advancement of biomedical sciences, a number of molecular markers in blood, other biospecimens and environment were identified as predictors of development or risk of a certain disease. Epidemiology research to examine the relationship between these biomarkers analyzed at the molecular level and disease was broadly named " molecular epidemiology ". Specifically, " genetic epidemiology " has been used for epidemiology of germline genetic variation and disease. Genetic variation
6016-403: The main etiological work that brought forward the concept. His concepts were still being considered in analysing SARS outbreak by WHO in 2004 in the context of traditional Chinese medicine. Another pioneer, Thomas Sydenham (1624–1689), was the first to distinguish the fevers of Londoners in the later 1600s. His theories on cures of fevers met with much resistance from traditional physicians at
6110-448: The middle of the 16th century, a doctor from Verona named Girolamo Fracastoro was the first to propose a theory that the very small, unseeable, particles that cause disease were alive. They were considered to be able to spread by air, multiply by themselves and to be destroyable by fire. In this way he refuted Galen 's miasma theory (poison gas in sick people). In 1543 he wrote a book De contagione et contagiosis morbis , in which he
6204-506: The multicausality associated with disease is the causal pie model . In 1965, Austin Bradford Hill proposed a series of considerations to help assess evidence of causation, which have come to be commonly known as the " Bradford Hill criteria ". In contrast to the explicit intentions of their author, Hill's considerations are now sometimes taught as a checklist to be implemented for assessing causality. Hill himself said "None of my nine viewpoints can bring indisputable evidence for or against
6298-598: The nineteenth international scientific meetings which have been held to date. The second was held in the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia , in 1959 when the present title of the association was adopted. With few exceptions, the scientific meetings of the association have been held every three years since 1957 in different locations around the world. At the first Council Meeting held in Montreal 17–18 August 2002, it
6392-417: The odds of exposure in the cases (A/C) to the odds of exposure in the controls (B/D), i.e. OR = (AD/BC). If the OR is significantly greater than 1, then the conclusion is "those with the disease are more likely to have been exposed", whereas if it is close to 1 then the exposure and disease are not likely associated. If the OR is far less than one, then this suggests that the exposure is a protective factor in
6486-498: The odds ratio by the equation: where N is the ratio of cases to controls. As the odds ratio approaches 1, the number of cases required for statistical significance grows towards infinity; rendering case-control studies all but useless for low odds ratios. For instance, for an odds ratio of 1.5 and cases = controls, the table shown above would look like this: For an odds ratio of 1.1: Cohort studies select subjects based on their exposure status. The study subjects should be at risk of
6580-399: The organization of international meetings within regions. The present council consists of members from all the WHO regions and it is now considering the whole question of regional development. Epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population . It
6674-407: The other health, life, and social sciences. The aim of the IEA in cosponsoring this dictionary in its more than 20-year history has been to facilitate communication among epidemiologist to develop a "common language" to the extent that this is possible. The first fourth editions of the dictionary were edited by John Last and the fifth edition was edited by Miquel Porta. In addition, the IEA has produced
6768-405: The other's country, that they were handicapped by not being sufficiently well informed about the research and teaching in the field of social and preventive medicine in the various medical schools and research institutes. Initially it was to try and remedy this defect, that the Club was established on a small and informal basis. At first it was just a corresponding club whose object was "to facilitate
6862-414: The outcome under investigation at the beginning of the cohort study; this usually means that they should be disease free when the cohort study starts. The cohort is followed through time to assess their later outcome status. An example of a cohort study would be the investigation of a cohort of smokers and non-smokers over time to estimate the incidence of lung cancer. The same 2×2 table is constructed as with
6956-536: The planning and execution of educational programmes of the IEA and in the production of the "Guide to Teaching Epidemiology". The IEA is also an active member of the Countdown initiative, and provides oversight on data quality, analyses and interpretation. The Countdown to 2015: Maternal, Newborn and Child Health is a global initiative that includes academics and representatives of multilateral and bilateral agencies, professional organizations and civil society who share
7050-400: The prevailing Miasma Theory of the time, a model of disease in which poor air quality was blamed for illness. This was used to rationalize high rates of infection in impoverished areas instead of addressing the underlying issues of poor nutrition and sanitation, and was proven false by his work. Other pioneers include Danish physician Peter Anton Schleisner , who in 1849 related his work on
7144-640: The prevention of the epidemic of neonatal tetanus on the Vestmanna Islands in Iceland . Another important pioneer was Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis , who in 1847 brought down infant mortality at a Vienna hospital by instituting a disinfection procedure. His findings were published in 1850, but his work was ill-received by his colleagues, who discontinued the procedure. Disinfection did not become widely practiced until British surgeon Joseph Lister 'discovered' antiseptics in 1865 in light of
7238-433: The purpose of communicating the results to those who can implement appropriate policies or disease control measures. Robert Cruikshank Isaac Robert Cruikshank , sometimes known as Robert Cruikshank (27 September 1789 – 13 March 1856), was a caricaturist , illustrator and portrait miniaturist, the less well-known brother of George Cruikshank , both sons of Isaac Cruikshank . Just like them, he holds importance as
7332-556: The remainder. Of particular note have been those which marked the foundation and strength of national epidemiological associations as in Japan, China and Holland. The growth and interest in epidemiology and the enormous improvement in the quality, as well as the quantity of epidemiological research has been particularly notable in some IEA regions as South East Asia. For example, the Australian Regional IEA meeting in 1973
7426-435: The representativeness of the association by encouraging members to nominate epidemiologists from other countries. Nowadays, membership is growing in the association, with over 2,000 current members from around the world. Current membership categories include: The IEA has recently introduced a scheme of joint membership with various national epidemiological societies. Members of participating national societies join IEA at 30% of
7520-402: The same population that gave rise to the cases. The case-control study looks back through time at potential exposures that both groups (cases and controls) may have encountered. A 2×2 table is constructed, displaying exposed cases (A), exposed controls (B), unexposed cases (C) and unexposed controls (D). The statistic generated to measure association is the odds ratio (OR), which is the ratio of
7614-757: The second in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , in April, 2010, the third in Malawi in April 2011, while the latest was held in Lima, Peru , during May 2012. It is planned to have the upcoming course in Hangzhou, China, 2013. The IEA also sponsors pre-conference courses prior to the WCE. In commemoration of Sir Richard Doll , IEA established in 2007 the "Richard Doll Prize in Epidemiology" to be awarded on triennial basis. The prize
7708-456: The study of adverse reactions to vaccination and has been shown in some circumstances to provide statistical power comparable to that available in cohort studies. Case-control studies select subjects based on their disease status. It is a retrospective study. A group of individuals that are disease positive (the "case" group) is compared with a group of disease negative individuals (the "control" group). The control group should ideally come from
7802-439: The term is widely used in studies of zoological populations (veterinary epidemiology), although the term " epizoology " is available, and it has also been applied to studies of plant populations (botanical or plant disease epidemiology ). The distinction between "epidemic" and "endemic" was first drawn by Hippocrates , to distinguish between diseases that are "visited upon" a population (epidemic) from those that "reside within"
7896-716: The time. He was not able to find the initial cause of the smallpox fever he researched and treated. John Graunt , a haberdasher and amateur statistician, published Natural and Political Observations ... upon the Bills of Mortality in 1662. In it, he analysed the mortality rolls in London before the Great Plague , presented one of the first life tables , and reported time trends for many diseases, new and old. He provided statistical evidence for many theories on disease, and also refuted some widespread ideas on them. John Snow
7990-645: The usual rate and have all of the benefits of regular IEA membership, except that they receive the e-version of the IJE only. Joint membership have established with the following associations: The development and strengthening of regional activities is manifested by the record of the regional meetings. These have been stimulating affairs as shown by the publications which resulted. There have been regular meetings in most IEA Regions, including: Africa, South-East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean, North America and Western Pacific and occasional ones in
8084-413: The water and removed the handle; this ended the outbreak. This has been perceived as a major event in the history of public health and regarded as the founding event of the science of epidemiology, having helped shape public health policies around the world. However, Snow's research and preventive measures to avoid further outbreaks were not fully accepted or put into practice until after his death due to
8178-637: The work of Louis Pasteur . In the early 20th century, mathematical methods were introduced into epidemiology by Ronald Ross , Janet Lane-Claypon , Anderson Gray McKendrick , and others. In a parallel development during the 1920s, German-Swiss pathologist Max Askanazy and others founded the International Society for Geographical Pathology to systematically investigate the geographical pathology of cancer and other non-infectious diseases across populations in different regions. After World War II, Richard Doll and other non-pathologists joined
8272-556: The world. The 19th WCE was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, August 2011, while the 20th WCE will be held in Anchorage, Alaska, August 2014. Regional Scientific Meetings are also held in the IEA regions during three-year periods between WCEs. The IEA is in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and is run by a council including executive and regional councilors for its seven regions in addition to
8366-618: The world. The WHO agreed to cooperate in this project and Dr Ronald Lowe and Jan Kostrzewski were asked to edit the guide. It was published first in English as Epidemiology: A guide to Teaching Methods Teaching Epidemiology: A guide for teachers in epidemiology, public health and clinical medicine and also published in French, German, Polish, Serbo-Croat Slovak, and Spanish editions; and editions in Russian and Slovakare in preparation. Other of
8460-481: The years. A determined effort was made in this decade to develop regional activities and to strengthen IEA links and co-operation with the WHO . The International Corresponding Club, as the IEA was first called, was started in 1954 by John Pemberton of Great Britain and Harold N Willard of the United States with the advice and help of Robert Cruickshank . They had found, as traveling Research Fellows each in
8554-574: Was agreed that all meetings formerly entitled International Scientific Meeting would henceforth be called World Congress of Epidemiology (WCE), with a continued sequence of numbering. Here is a list of the WCE held since 1957: The IEA has always attached great importance to the educational aspects of its work and its first Chairman, Robert Cruikshank , often used the phrase "spreading the gospel" to describe these aims. The meeting in Cali in 1959 stimulated great interest in epidemiology in Colombia and as
8648-439: Was attended by nine Japanese - at that time the only such practicing scientists in that country. There was, by 1995, a flourishing national association with more than 900 members and its own Journal published in English. It was the host for the 1996 International Scientific Meeting (ISM). The number of participants, at Regional Meetings in this area e.g. from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand illustrate
8742-471: Was deliberately left behind on St Helena . He arrived back in London in 1806 and shocked his family who were in mourning having been told that he was dead. In the late 1820s, Cruikshank illustrated a number of notable books that were often sequels to previous successes to which he and his brother George had contributed. For example, George Cruikshank illustrated Points of Humour and Isaac Cruikshank illustrated Points of Misery . The brothers collaborated on
8836-668: Was the first to promote personal and environmental hygiene to prevent disease. The development of a sufficiently powerful microscope by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1675 provided visual evidence of living particles consistent with a germ theory of disease . During the Ming dynasty , Wu Youke (1582–1652) developed the idea that some diseases were caused by transmissible agents, which he called Li Qi (戾气 or pestilential factors) when he observed various epidemics rage around him between 1641 and 1644. His book Wen Yi Lun (瘟疫论, Treatise on Pestilence/Treatise of Epidemic Diseases) can be regarded as
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