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Epidemiology in Ophthalmology
Arch Ophthalmol. 2001;119:1374-1375.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
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A 1980 ARTICLE ENTITLED "Epidemiology in Ophthalmology"1
lamented the fact that, ". . . ophthalmology, like many other medical specialties,
is steeped in tradition and places great value on expert opinion." The article
advocated for a more scientifically rigorous, epidemiological approach to
the study of ophthalmic diseases and their treatments. Now, 2 decades later,
it is time to reexamine the definition of epidemiology and its role in ophthalmology
and to explore whether and how ophthalmic epidemiology has matured over the
ensuing years.
The fact that a particular disease is not randomly distributed throughout
a population, but appears with varying frequency in different subgroups, is
implicit in the definition of epidemiology. By investigating the uneven distribution
of disease and the factors that influence it, epidemiology provides the foundation
for disease prevention and control. The identification of risk factors for
disease development is fundamental to epidemiology for 2 reasons. First, some
of . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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