epidemiology

play

noun ep·i·de·mi·ol·o·gy \ ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ˈä-lə-jē , -ˌde-mē- \

Definition of epidemiology

1 :a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population

2 :the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or pathogen

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epidemiological

play \ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ə-ˈlä-ji-kəl, -ˌde-mē-\ or less commonly epidemiologic play \ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ə-ˈlä-jik, -ˌde-mē-\ adjective

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epidemiologically

play \ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē, -ˌde-mē-\ adverb

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epidemiologist

play \ˌe-pə-ˌdē-mē-ˈä-lə-jist, -ˌde-mē-\ noun

See epidemiology defined for English-language learners

See epidemiology defined for kids

Recent Examples of epidemiology from the Web

The senior author, Deborah A. Lawlor, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Bristol in England, said obesity in pregnancy is dangerous for many reasons.

— nicholas bakalar, New York Times, "Mothers, Fathers and Obesity in Offspring," 24 Aug. 2017
Sheryl Magzamen, assistant professor of epidemiology at Colorado State and one of the paper’s authors, says that the study covered one wildfire season and not just one event.

— erik lacitis, The Seattle Times, "Is the air as unhealthy as it looks?," 5 Aug. 2017
In other words, a high BMI was more dangerous for white women, and carrying a spare tire was more dangerous for black women, says senior author Samar El Khoudary, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at Pitt Public Health.

— amanda macmillan, Health.com, "A Layer of Fat Around Your Heart May Be Just as Risky as Belly Fat—Here’s Who’s Most Likely to Have It," 3 Aug. 2017
D candidate epidemiology of microbial diseases department at Yale, was quarantined during the height of an Ebola scare.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "What Breed Is Your Dog? Test Its DNA to Find Out," 18 July 2017
Many public officials, including Castrodale, who has worked in Alaska epidemiology since 1999, had never before seen an outbreak.

— lisa demer, Alaska Dispatch News, "Ten Alaskans were sickened by raw or undercooked walrus. A parasite was in the meat, CDC says.," 14 July 2017
Tim Spector is professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London.

— tim spector, CNN, "I spent three days as a hunter-gatherer to see if it would improve my gut health," 5 July 2017
Durland Fish is professor emeritus of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health.

— durland fish, Fortune, "This Tick-Borne Virus Could Be Worse Than Lyme Disease," 3 July 2017
Stephen Morse, professor and director of the infectious disease epidemiology certificate program at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, said the side effects associated with the patch surprised him.

— jacqueline howard, CNN, "Skin patch may be the future of flu vaccines, study suggests," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'epidemiology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.