Title: Overview of Descriptive Epidemiology of Mental Disorders
Abstract: Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and correlates of illness in the population. The three stages of epidemiological investigation are descriptive, analytic, and experimental. Descriptive epidemiology is concerned with the distribution of illness onset and course, whereas analytic epidemiology is concerned with the use of nonexperimental data to elucidate causal processes involved in illness onset and course, and experimental epidemiology is concerned with the development and evaluation of interventions aimed at modifying risk factors to prevent illness onset or to modify illness course. Most epidemiological studies of psychiatric disorders are either descriptive or analytic. Historically, much of the important work in these areas has been done by sociologists. Experimental psychiatric epidemiology is more rare. A challenge for sociologists working in psychiatric epidemiology is to refine their analytic models sufficiently to establish the basis for structural interventions. See Rothman (1986) for an introduction to epidemiology overall and Tsaung, Tohen, and Zahner (1995) for an introduction to psychiatric epidemiology.
Publication Year: 1999
Publication Date: 1999-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 20
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