Statistical epidemiology is an emerging branch of the disciplines of

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

and

biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) is a branch of statistics that applies statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

that aims to: * Bring more statistical rigour to bear in the field of

* Recognise the importance of applied

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

, especially with respect to the context in which statistical methods are appropriate and inappropriate * Aid and improve our interpretation of observations

Introduction

The science of

has had enormous growth, particularly with charity and government funding. Many researchers have been trained to conduct studies, requiring multiple skills ranging from liaising with clinical staff to the

statistical analysis Statistical inference is the process of using data analysis to infer properties of an underlying probability distribution.Upton, G., Cook, I. (2008) ''Oxford Dictionary of Statistics'', OUP. . Inferential statistical analysis infers properties of ...

of complex data, such as using

Bayesian method Bayesian inference ( or ) is a method of statistical inference in which Bayes' theorem is used to calculate a probability of a hypothesis, given prior evidence, and update it as more information becomes available. Fundamentally, Bayesian inferen ...

s. The role of a Statistical Epidemiologist is to bring the most appropriate methods available to bear on

observational study In fields such as epidemiology, social sciences, psychology and statistics, an observational study draws inferences from a sample (statistics), sample to a statistical population, population where the dependent and independent variables, independ ...

from medical research, requiring a broad appreciation of the underpinning methods and their context of applicability and interpretation. The earliest mention of this phrase was in an article by EB Wilson, taking a critical look at the way in which statistical methods were developing and being applied in the science of epidemiology.

Academic recognition

There are two Professors of Statistical Epidemiology in the United Kingdom
University of Leeds
an
Imperial College
London) and a Statistical Epidemiology group (

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Related fields

Statistical epidemiology draws upon

quantitative methods Quantitative research is a research strategy that focuses on quantifying the collection and analysis of data. It is formed from a deductive approach where emphasis is placed on the testing of theory, shaped by empiricist and positivist philoso ...

from fields such as:

operations research Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve management and ...

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, and

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal , author=Wilson, E.B. , year=1963 , title=A critical look at statistical epidemiology , journal=Cancer , volume=16 , issue=4 , pages=510–5 , doi=10.1002/1097-0142(196304)16:4<510::aid-cncr2820160412>3.0.co;2-l , pmid=14001013, doi-access=free Epidemiology Demography Biostatistics

Introduction

Academic recognition

Related fields

See also

References