Not really, but this article discusses a research study that ties cell phone use to changes in the brain. It isn't certain yet whether these changes will have any meaningful impact on overall health. I personally hate talking on the phone, so I'm not too worried. Okay, here's the article:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/cellphone-use-tied-to-changes-in-brain-activity/?ref=health
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Interesting article for the pet lovers out there
Here is an interesting article about how allowing pets to sleep in bed with you can cause the spread of disease. Just something to think about, although I know most people won't be kicking Fido off the bed anytime soon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/garden/17pets.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=health
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/garden/17pets.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=health
Monday, February 14, 2011
What is epidemiology?
This seems to be a good place to start. I'm guessing that many people don't know what epidemiology is or maybe haven't even heard of it. It is a surprisingly important part of all our lives, including my own, so I think it is important for people to have at least a simple understanding of what it is. I'll start with some book definitions of epidemiology. Epidemiology by Leon Gordis gives two definitions:
1. "The study of how disease is distributed in populations and the factors that influence or determine this distribution." - Gordis Leon: Epidemiology, 4th ed.Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2009
2. "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." - Last JM: A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 4th ed. New York, Oxford University Press, 2000.
You will notice some common language in the two definitions, which I have color-coded to make things a little easier. First, epidemiology deals with disease, or health-related states. Second, it is specific to certain populations, which can be defined in any number of ways.Third, it is concerned with how these diseases are distributed, or spread out, in that population. Finally, epidemiology is concerned with the determinants of the disease, or what factors led to the disease.
Still a little confused? Well basically epidemiology is about better understanding disease and using what we understand to prevent or limit these diseases. If my explanation is still a little weak (which is definitely possible) maybe some examples will help clear things up. How about you check out the Wikipedia link below. Just as a short preface, the link goes to the page about meningitis, which is a disease you may have heard of. If you frequent Wikipedia disease pages, you may have noticed an Epidemiology section. Read this section from the link and maybe that will help give you a better understanding.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meningitis#Epidemiology
Interesting stuff, huh? I may be a little biased (if that's the right word) towards meningitis because I was hospitalized with it a few years back (technically it was meningoenchephalitis.) Seems strange that having a disease would make it interesting to someone, but that seems to be the case. Had any strange diseases of your own? Mumps, measles, chicken pox, something else? Look them up. They all have an epidemiology section, or something closely related. You may also have noticed among all the numbers and statistics a familiar word: epidemic. I'm sure you have heard or used the word before, but do you you really know what an epidemic is? Epidemics are one of the many things that epidemiology is concerned with, and so I think it is important to define it and two related terms.
Epidemic - "The occurrence in a community or region of a group of illnesses of similar nature, clearly in excess of normal expectancy, and derived from a common or from a propagated source."- Gordis Leon: Epidemiology, 4th ed.Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2009
Pandemic - "A worldwide epidemic."- Gordis Leon: Epidemiology, 4th ed.Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2009
Endemic - "The habitual presence of a disease within a given geographic area."- Gordis Leon: Epidemiology, 4th ed.Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2009
Below is a link to an article addressing a disease the author purports to be all three of the above terms. It is of interest to me because I suffer from this disease (I know what you are thinking, "This guy is incredibly unhealthy.") It is hypertension or, more commonly, high blood pressure. It is a pretty interesting (and relatively short), so take a look if you have time.
http://www.ersnet.org/learning_resources_player/paper/RS/53.pdf
Starting to see how epidemiology plays into everyday life? Looking to the news is another good example of this. Everyone remembers swine flu not too long ago, and before that SARS was all over televisions and newspapers across the world. These kinds of major news stories about worldwide disease outbreaks are what I would have considered to be epidemiology before I started the class I'm currently in. Although they definitely are part of it, there is much more to epidemiology than SARS. As a big New York Times reader, I've started to see more and more epidemiology related articles with a more clear view of what epidemiology actually entails.Below I have linked a few articles from the last week that are epidemiology related. The first article is about a recently deceased epidemiologist. The second is about how many rare diseases are popping up in New York City because of the diverse travelers common there. The third article is about reasons behind some of the lowered HIV rates in Zimbabwe. The last article addresses Bill Gates' new push to totally eradicate polio.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/health/13schatzkin.html?_r=1&ref=health
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/nyregion/11diseases.html?ref=health
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/health/15global.html?ref=health
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/health/15polio.html?ref=health
These are just a few of the articles dealing with epidemiology related news in the past week! I encourage readers to visit nytimes.com and find epidemiology related articles (or whatever else interests you), but I will also be posting epidemiology related articles I find interesting to the blog from time to time.
Well, I hope this has given you some idea of how wide-spread and important epidemiology is, and also just a basic idea of what it is. I personally find epidemiology and disease in general very interesting (and it is very relevant to a seemingly disease-ridden person like myself), and I hope that this blog will get others interested as well. I will finish this post with a video about meningitis, a very serious disease that would be even more serious without the work of epidemiologists.
1. "The study of how disease is distributed in populations and the factors that influence or determine this distribution." - Gordis Leon: Epidemiology, 4th ed.Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2009
2. "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." - Last JM: A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 4th ed. New York, Oxford University Press, 2000.
You will notice some common language in the two definitions, which I have color-coded to make things a little easier. First, epidemiology deals with disease, or health-related states. Second, it is specific to certain populations, which can be defined in any number of ways.Third, it is concerned with how these diseases are distributed, or spread out, in that population. Finally, epidemiology is concerned with the determinants of the disease, or what factors led to the disease.
Still a little confused? Well basically epidemiology is about better understanding disease and using what we understand to prevent or limit these diseases. If my explanation is still a little weak (which is definitely possible) maybe some examples will help clear things up. How about you check out the Wikipedia link below. Just as a short preface, the link goes to the page about meningitis, which is a disease you may have heard of. If you frequent Wikipedia disease pages, you may have noticed an Epidemiology section. Read this section from the link and maybe that will help give you a better understanding.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meningitis#Epidemiology
Interesting stuff, huh? I may be a little biased (if that's the right word) towards meningitis because I was hospitalized with it a few years back (technically it was meningoenchephalitis.) Seems strange that having a disease would make it interesting to someone, but that seems to be the case. Had any strange diseases of your own? Mumps, measles, chicken pox, something else? Look them up. They all have an epidemiology section, or something closely related. You may also have noticed among all the numbers and statistics a familiar word: epidemic. I'm sure you have heard or used the word before, but do you you really know what an epidemic is? Epidemics are one of the many things that epidemiology is concerned with, and so I think it is important to define it and two related terms.
Epidemic - "The occurrence in a community or region of a group of illnesses of similar nature, clearly in excess of normal expectancy, and derived from a common or from a propagated source."- Gordis Leon: Epidemiology, 4th ed.Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2009
Pandemic - "A worldwide epidemic."- Gordis Leon: Epidemiology, 4th ed.Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2009
Endemic - "The habitual presence of a disease within a given geographic area."- Gordis Leon: Epidemiology, 4th ed.Philadelphia, Saunders Elsevier, 2009
Below is a link to an article addressing a disease the author purports to be all three of the above terms. It is of interest to me because I suffer from this disease (I know what you are thinking, "This guy is incredibly unhealthy.") It is hypertension or, more commonly, high blood pressure. It is a pretty interesting (and relatively short), so take a look if you have time.
http://www.ersnet.org/learning_resources_player/paper/RS/53.pdf
Starting to see how epidemiology plays into everyday life? Looking to the news is another good example of this. Everyone remembers swine flu not too long ago, and before that SARS was all over televisions and newspapers across the world. These kinds of major news stories about worldwide disease outbreaks are what I would have considered to be epidemiology before I started the class I'm currently in. Although they definitely are part of it, there is much more to epidemiology than SARS. As a big New York Times reader, I've started to see more and more epidemiology related articles with a more clear view of what epidemiology actually entails.Below I have linked a few articles from the last week that are epidemiology related. The first article is about a recently deceased epidemiologist. The second is about how many rare diseases are popping up in New York City because of the diverse travelers common there. The third article is about reasons behind some of the lowered HIV rates in Zimbabwe. The last article addresses Bill Gates' new push to totally eradicate polio.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/health/13schatzkin.html?_r=1&ref=health
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/nyregion/11diseases.html?ref=health
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/health/15global.html?ref=health
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/health/15polio.html?ref=health
These are just a few of the articles dealing with epidemiology related news in the past week! I encourage readers to visit nytimes.com and find epidemiology related articles (or whatever else interests you), but I will also be posting epidemiology related articles I find interesting to the blog from time to time.
Well, I hope this has given you some idea of how wide-spread and important epidemiology is, and also just a basic idea of what it is. I personally find epidemiology and disease in general very interesting (and it is very relevant to a seemingly disease-ridden person like myself), and I hope that this blog will get others interested as well. I will finish this post with a video about meningitis, a very serious disease that would be even more serious without the work of epidemiologists.
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