Definition of Epidemiology

流行病學常與抗擊流行病的意念聯繫得太頻繁和太緊密：epi（上），demo（人）和 logos（要研究），實際上它包含了更廣泛的概念。

流行病學是對人類健康狀況或事件的分佈和決定因素之研究，並將其應用於控制健康問題。 流行病學的核心是使用量化方式研究人群中的疾病和危險因素。

Epidemiology is still too often and too closely associated with the idea of fighting epidemics: epi (upon), demos (the people), and logos (to study), it actually incorporates (納入) much wider concepts.

It is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in human populations and the application of this study to the control of health problems. The core of epidemiology is the use of quantitative methods to study disease and risk factors in human populations.

Carr, S., Unwin, N. & Pless-Mulloli, T. (2nd Ed.) (2007). An introduction to public health and epidemiology. England: McGraw-Hill.