Topics in Environmental Epidemiology

Book Overview

A comprehensive survey of the epidemiology of common environmental exposures, this volume covers diet, water, particulates in outdoor air, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, environmental tobacco smoke, radon in homes, electromagnetic fields, and lead. Design and analysis issues, risk assessment and meta-analysis, and future directions in environmental epidemiology are also discussed. All chapters provide a review of the relevant literature as well as an overview of important methodologic issues, particularly exposure assessment and statistical methods.
Most of these exposures are widespread and low-level, and are thought to increase the risk of chronic diseases that have many causes. Even though the disease risks due to these exposures may be low, the public health burden may be significant because large numbers of people are exposed. Such exposures are inherently difficult to detect via observational epidemiology. This book clarifies the problems and suggests ways to move forward. It will be useful to students and practitioners of public health, environmental health, and epidemiology.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195095642
• ISBN13: 9780195095647
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Survey of environmental epidemiology subjects

This book was assigned in my graduate level course in environmental epidemiology. Steenland and Savitz provide adequate introductory and background information for environmental epi and the rest of the chapters are written by experts in their respective fields. The only problem I had with the book is the very different writing styles between authors of chapters. If you attempt to read more than one chapter in one sitting, you might want to take a breather in between chapters and clear your mind a bit. Otherwise, the 358 pages are a great summary of the thousands of scientific articles one would need to read to begin to understand this complex field. The editors and authors have done a nice job choosing subjects that are at the core of environmental epi and that are interesting as well. It was informative and educational.