Epidemiology: An Introduction

Abstract

By Kenneth J. RothmanISBN 0–19–513553–9 (cloth), ISBN 0–19–513554–7 (paper) Oxford University Press, Inc., New York, New York (Telephone: 212–726–6000, e-mail: www.oup.com), 2002, 223 pp., $57.50 (cloth), $29.95 (paper) As stated in the preface, the teaching objective of this textbook is to provide a “simple overview of the concepts that are the underpinnings of epidemiology,” in which “the emphasis is not on statistics, formulas, or computation, but on epidemiologic principles and concepts.” The conceptual scope of the book is comprehensive and sufficiently profound to provide a solid foundation for instruction in causal inference, study design, and data analysis and interpretation. The book begins with examples of confounding by age distribution that distort comparisons of crude death rates between countries with markedly disparate socioeconomic resources or risks of death between smokers and nonsmokers. At the conclusion of this chapter, the author provides a series of questions for discussion that review concepts of age-specific rates and risks of death and confounding by age. Indeed, thoughtful questions appear after each of the 10 ensuing chapters that serve to enhance understanding of fundamental concepts, but do not require computation. There are no answers provided in an appendix or plans for an instructor’s guide. However, in the preface, there is an indication of a website that will “post contributed answers to the questions raised at the end of each chapter.” The website is at http://www.oup-usa.org/epi/rothman.