Molecular epidemiology

Molecular epidemiology is a branch of epidemiology and medical science that focuses on the contribution of potential genetic and environmental risk factors, identified at the molecular level, to the etiology, distribution and prevention of disease within families and across populations.[1] This field has emerged from the integration of molecular biology into traditional epidemiological research. Molecular epidemiology improves our understanding of the pathogenesis of disease by identifying specific pathways, molecules and genes that influence the risk of developing disease.[2][3] More broadly, it seeks to establish understanding of how the interactions between genetic traits and environmental exposures result in disease.[4]

  1. ^ "What is Molecular Epidemiology?". Molecular Epidemiology Homepage. University of Pittsburgh. 28 July 1998. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  2. ^ "What is Molecular Epidemiology?". aacr.org. Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  3. ^ Miquel Porta, editor. Greenland S, Hernán M, dos Santos Silva I, Last JM, associate editors (2014). A dictionary of epidemiology, 6th. edition. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199976737
  4. ^ Porta, M. (2002). "Incomplete overlapping of biological, clinical, and environmental information in molecular epidemiological studies: a variety of causes and a cascade of consequences". J Epidemiol Community Health. 56 (10): 734–738. doi:10.1136/jech.56.10.734. PMC 1732039. PMID 12239196.