A Dictionary of Epidemiology

Sixth Edition

Edited by Miquel Porta

An official publication of the International Epidemiological Association
Clear, concise definitions accompanied by examples and illustrations
Entries in clinical, environmental, life course, and social epidemiology
Emphasis on epidemiologic methods, including new techniques
Ideal for students and professionals in medicine, public health, and related disciplines looking for a clear introduction to the new definitions of both common and advanced terms

New to this Edition:

The most extensive revision in the book's six editions
Core terms now better defined to reflect current standards
Expanded topical coverage now includes genetics, clinical epidemiology, public health practice/policy, preventive medicine, health promotion, social sciences, and epidemiology for clinical research

A Dictionary of Epidemiology

Sixth Edition

Edited by Miquel Porta

Description

This sixth edition of A Dictionary of Epidemiology -- the most updated since its inception -- reflects the profound substantive and methodological changes that have come to characterize epidemiology and its associated disciplines. Sponsored by the International Epidemiological Association, this book remains the essential reference for anyone studying or working in epidemiology, biostatistics, public health, medicine, or the growing number health sciences in which epidemiologic competency is now required.

More than just a dictionary, this text is an essential guidebook to the state of the science. It offers the most current, authoritative definitions of terms central to biomedical and public health literature -- everything from confounding and incidence rate to epigenetic inheritance and Number Needed to Treat. As epidemiology continues to change and grow, A Dictionary of Epidemiology will remain its book of record.

A Dictionary of Epidemiology

Sixth Edition

Edited by Miquel Porta

A Dictionary of Epidemiology

Sixth Edition

Edited by Miquel Porta

Author Information

Miquel Porta is a physician, epidemiologist and scholar from Barcelona who pioneered clinical and molecular epidemiology in Europe and has promoted the integration of biological, clinical, environmental, and social knowledge and methods in research and teaching worldwide. Porta has served as a visiting scientist at many global institutions, including the University of North Carolina, Harvard, and Imperial College London, and was Chairman of the European Epidemiology Federation.

Contributors:

Associate Editors:
Sander Greenland
Miguel Hernán
Isabel dos Santos Silva
John M. Last

Assistant Editor:
Andrea Burón

Contributors:

Preben Aavitsland
Kristiansand, Norway
Ibrahim Abdelnour
Damascus, Syria
Theo Abelin
Berne, Switzerland
Aman-Oloniyo Abimbola
Abuja, Nigeria
Victor Abraira
Madrid, Spain
Joe Abramson
Jerusalem, Israel
Anders Ahlbom
Stockholm, Sweden
Neal Alexander
London, England, UK
Mohamed Farouk Allam
Córdoba, Spain
Álvaro Alonso
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Jordi Alonso
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Douglas Altman
London, England, UK
Janet Byron Anderson
Rocky River, Ohio, USA
Kunio Aoki
Nagoya, Japan
Onyebuchi Arah
Los Angeles, USA
Haroutune Armenian
Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and Yerevan, Armenia
Shabnam Asghari
St. John's, Canada
Mary Jane Ashley
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Aleksei Baburin
Tallinn, Estonia
John Bailar III
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Michael Baker
Wellington, New Zealand
Mauricio Barreto
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Aluísio J.D. Barros
Pelotas, Brazil
Xavier Basagaña
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Olga Basso
Aarhus, Denmark
Renaldo Battista
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Robert Beaglehole
Auckland, New Zealand
Stella Beckman
Berkeley, California, USA
Solomon Benatar
Cape Town, South Africa
Fernando G. benavides
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Yoav Ben-Shlomo
Bristol, England, UK
Roger Bernier
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Silvina Berra
Córdoba, Argentina
Raj Bhopal
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Nicholas Birkett
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Jordi Blanch
Girona, Spain
Dankmar Böhning
Berlin, Germany
Jean-François Boivin
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Francisco Bolúmar
Madrid, Spain
David Boniface
London, England, UK
Knut Borch-Johnsen
Horsholm, Denmark
Ric Bouvier
Kew, Victoria, Australia
Annette Braunack-Mayer
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Clive Brown
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Ross Brownson
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Jim Butler
Canberra, ACT, Australia
Lee Caplan
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Iain Chalmers
Oxford, England, UK
Yue Chen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Bernard Choi
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Stella Chungong
Geneva, Switzerland
Mike Clarke
Oxford, England, UK
Tammy Clifford
London, Ontario, Canada
Alison Cohen
Berkeley, California, USA
Philip Cole
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Deborah Cook
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Doug Coyle
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Andrew Creese
Geneva, Switzerland
Giovanna Cruz
Berkeley, California, USA
Nancy Czaicki
Berkeley, California, USA
George Davey Smith
Bristol, England, UK
Silvia Declich
Rome, Italy
Del De Hart
Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Julia del Amo
Madrid, Spain
N. S. Deodhar
Pune, India
Bob Douglas
Canberra, ACT, Australia
Gerard Dubois
Amiens, France
John Duffus
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Kate Dunn
Keele, Newcastle, UK
Shah Ebrahim
London, England, UK
Matthias Egger
Bern, Switzerland
Emon Elboudwarej
Berkeley, California, USA
Mark Elwood
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Leon Epstein
Jerusalem, Israel
Caroline H.D. Fall
Southampton, UK
Alvan Feinstein
New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Charles du V. Florey
Sidmouth, England, UK
Stephen Francis
Berkeley, California, USA
Erica Frank
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Rayner Fretzel-Behme
Bremen, Germany
Gary Friedman
Oakland, California, USA
Ana M. Garcia
Valencia, Spain
B. Burt Gerstman
San Jose, California, USA
Milena Gianfrancesco
Berkeley, California, USA
Alan Gibbs
Manchester, England, UK
Philippe Grandjean
Odense, Denmark
Nicola Grandy
Paris, France
Sander Greenland
Los Angeles, California, USA
Duane Gubler
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Charles Guest
Canberra, ACT, Australia
Tee Guidotti
Washington, DC, USA
Gordon Guyatt
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Matti Hakama
Tampere, Finland
Timo Hakulinen
Helsinki, Finland
Philip Hall
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Philip Hannaford
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Susan Harris
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Maureen Hatch
New York, New York, USA
Brian Haynes
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Miguel A. Hernán
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Ildefonso Hernández
Maó, Menorca, and Alacant, Spain
Sonia Hernández-Diaz
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Andrew Herxheimer
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Basil Hetzel
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Alan Hinman
Decatur, Georgia, USA
Walter Holland
London, England, UK
María-Graciela Hollm-Delgado
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
D'Arcy Holman
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Ernest Hook
Berkeley, California, USA
Jeffrey House
San Francisco, California, USA
John P.A. Ioannidis
Stanford, California, USA, and Ioannina, Greece
Masako Iwanaga
Tokyo, Japan
Konrad Jamrozik
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Mohsen Janghorbani
Isfahan, Iran
Tom Jefferson
Camberley, England, UK
Milos Jenicek
Rockwood, Ontario, Canada
Rose Kagawa
Berkeley, California, USA
Deb Karasek
Berkeley, California, USA
Wilfried Karmaus
Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Suraj Khanal
Norfolk, USAMustafa Khogali
Beirut, Lebanon
Daniel Kim
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Maurice King
Leeds, England, UK
Tord Kjellström
Auckland, New Zealand
Rosemary Korda
Canberra, ACT, Australia
Daniel Kotz
Maastricht, Netherlands
Dan Krewski
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Nino Künzli
Basel, Switzerland
Diana Kuh
London, England, UK
Esa Läärä
Oulu, Finland
Chandrakant Lahariya,
New Delhi, India
Stephen Lambert
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Henk Lamberts
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ron Laporte
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
John Last
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Diana Lauderdale
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Duk-Hee Lee
Daegu, Korea
Abby Lippman
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Irvine Loudon
Oxford, England, UK
Tapio Luostarinen
Oulu, Finland
Shi Luyan
Wuhan, China
Outi Lyytikäinen
Helsinki, Finland
Johan Mackenbach
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Ahmed Mandil
Arturo Martí-Carvajal
Valencia, Venezuela
John McCallum
Canberra, ACT, Australia
Ian McDowell
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Robert McKeown
Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Rick McLean
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Tony McMichael
Canberra, ACT, Australia
Curtis Meinert
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Ricard Meneu
Valencia, Spain
Juan Merlo
Lund, Sweden
Jaime Miranda
Lima, Perú
David Moher
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Alfredo Morabia
New York, New York, USA
Salah Mostafa
Cairo, Egypt
Kiumarss Nasseri
Santa Barbara, USA
Ana Navas-Acien
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Norman Noah
London, England, UK
Patricia O'Campo
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Jørn Olsen
Aarhus, Denmark
Nigel Paneth
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Toni Patama
Helsinki, Finland
Skip Payne
Tiffin, Ohio, USA
Neil Pearce
London, England, UK, and Wellington, New Zealand
Susana Perez-Gutthann
Diana Petitti
Sierra Madre, California, USA
Aileen Plant
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Miquel Porta
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Eero Pukkala
Helsinki, Finland
Hedley Quintana
Stockholm, Sweden
Zoran Radovanovic
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Mati Rahu
Tallinn, Estonia
Gloria Ramirez
Santiago de Chile, Chile
Arindam Ray
New Delhi, India
Jose Rigau
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Chris Rissell
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Stefan Röder
Leipzig, Germany
Alfonso Rodriguez-Morales
Pereira, Colombia
Ken Rothman
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Michael Ryan
Geneva, Switzerland
Lucie Rychetnik
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Rodolfo Saracci
Lyon, France, and Pisa, Italy
Seppo Sarna
Helsinki, Finland
David Savitz
New York, New York, USA
Pathom Sawanpanyalert
Bangkok, Thailand
Sabine Schipf
Hamburg, Germany
Fran Scott
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Pippa Scott
Bern, Switzerland
Andreu Segura
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Jack Siemiatycki
Laval, Quebec, Canada
Gustavo A. Silva
Geneve, Sweden
Isabel dos Santos Silva
London, UK
Chitr Sitthi-Amorn
Bangkok, Thailand
Björn Smedby
Uppsala, Sweden
Robbie Snyder
Berkeley, California, USA
Cynthia Sonich-Mullin
Paris, France
Colin Soskolne
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Bob Spasoff
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Hans Storm
Copenhagen, Denmark
David Streiner
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Ezra Susser
New York, New York, USA
Mervyn Susser
New York, New York, USA
Kazuo Tajima
Nagoya, Japan
José A. Tapia
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Michel Thuriaux
Geneva, Switzerland
Aurelio Tobías
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Bernard Toma
Maisons-Alfort, France
Karen Trollope-Kumar
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Elena Tschishowa
Berlin, Germany
Jan Vandenbroucke
Utrecht, Netherlands
Tyler VanderWeele
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Frank van Hartingsveld
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hector Velasco
Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and Cuernavaca, Mexico
Sally Vernon
Houston, Texas, USA
Cesar G. Victora
Pelotas, Brazil
Ester Villalonga
Maó, Menorca, Spain, and Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Paolo Vineis
London, England, UK
Anna-Maija Virtala
Helsinki, Finland
Vasily Vlassov
Moscow, Russia
Divya Vohra
Berkeley, California, USA
Douglas L. Weed
Washington, DC, USA
Paul Wesson
Berkeley, California, USA
Denise Werker
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Claes-Göran Westrin
Uppsala, Sweden
Amanda Wheeler
Berkeley, California, USA
Frank White
Karachi, Pakistan
Kerr White
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Martin White
Newcastle, UK
P. Auke Wiegersma
Groningen, Netherlands
Don Wigle
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Allen Wilcox
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
Christopher P. Wild
Lyon, France
Kathleen Winter
Berkeley, California, USA
Michael Wolfson
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Caroline Wood
London, England, UK
Hiroshi Yanagawa
Jiichi, Japan
Kue Young
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

A Dictionary of Epidemiology

Sixth Edition

Edited by Miquel Porta

Reviews and Awards

Featured in The Epidemiology Monitor.

"Greatly superior to searching though epidemiology papers for definitions of terms or concepts. Printed books may be going out of fashion, but a paperback on the desk is actually more 'user-friendly' than wading through entries of questionable provenance on a search engine." -- European Journal of Clinical Investigation

"A source of fascinating insights in the subjects I know and a challenging and tantalizing introduction to subjects I do not know-a vital resource for students, practitioners, teachers, and resources." -- Annals of Epidemiology

Featured in The Epidemiology Monitor.

"[T]he 800 scholarly references at the end, all linked to one or more of the definitions, reflect the care and rigor with which the definitions are drawn and provide superb and broad references for our own scholarship." American Journal of Preventative Medicine

Featured in the International Journal of Epidemiology

"This dictionary continues to be the definitive source of epidemiological terms, concepts, and measures. It clarifies the language for a discipline that evolves with time. The updates in this edition justify replacement of all prior editions in your collection." -- Doody's Health Sciences Review

Featured in The Lancet

"[This] book is complete and yet compact, with all the major and many minor terms and concepts covered." -- American Journal of Epidemiology

A Dictionary of Epidemiology

Sixth Edition

Edited by Miquel Porta

From Our Blog

The deconstruction of paradoxes in epidemiology

If a 'revolution' in our field or area of knowledge was ongoing, would we feel it and recognize it? And if so, how? I think a methodological 'revolution' is probably going on in the science of epidemiology, but I'm not totally sure. Of course, in science not being sure is part of our normal state. And we mostly like it.

Posted on October 17, 2014

Read the blog post