Disciplines and Occupations

Epidemiology

Field concerned with the determination of causes, incidence, and characteristic behavior of disease outbreaks affecting human populations. It includes the interrelationships of host, agent, and environment as related to the distribution and control of disease.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

Field concerned with the determination of causes, incidence, and characteristic behavior of disease outbreaks affecting human populations. It includes the interrelationships of host, agent, and environment as related to the distribution and control of disease.

MeSH Record

Classification

MeSH Qualifier

Used as a Subheading

Epidemiology is also a MeSH subheading (qualifier Q000453), attached to other headings to focus them on this aspect:

Used with human and veterinary diseases for the distribution of disease, factors which cause disease, and the attributes of disease in defined populations; includes incidence, frequency, prevalence, endemic and epidemic outbreaks; also surveys and estimates of morbidity in geographic areas and in specified populations. Used also with geographical headings for the location of epidemiologic aspects of a disease. Excludes mortality for which mortality is used.

Qualifier ID
Q000453
Qualifier Tree
Y09.010

Indexing annotation

subhead only; with diseases & geographicals only; includes "incidence", "frequency", "prevalence", "occurrence", "outbreaks"; not for "mortality" ( = /mortality); not for "statistics" on non-disease terms ( = /statist); see MeSH scope note in Introduction; indexing policy: Manual 19.8.31; DF: /epidemiol or /EP CATALOG: may be subdivided geographically

Subheading synonyms

  • endemics
  • epidemics
  • frequency
  • incidence
  • morbidity
  • occurrence
  • outbreaks
  • prevalence
  • surveillance

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Related Concepts

Knowledge Graph

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MeSH Record

Synonyms

4 entry terms
  • Social Epidemiology
  • Epidemiologies, Social
  • Epidemiology, Social
  • Social Epidemiologies

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

11 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings classification, economics, education, ethics, history, instrumentation, legislation & jurisprudence, organization & administration, standards, statistics & numerical data, trends.

MeSH Record

Indexing Annotation

specialty only; prefer /epidemiol with diseases; do not confuse with TOPOGRAPHY, MEDICAL: epidemiology emphasizes disease outbreaks & disease-related conditions, topography emphasizes geography-related events

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Number

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Epidemiology. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D004813. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D004813
  2. Epidemiology. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology
  3. Epidemiology. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133805