ABSTRACT
The health of populations is shaped by complex interactions between humans and their socio-economic, physical and cultural environments. The epidemiological profile (patterns of health and disease) of populations changes over time in intricate and uneven ways as the relationship to these environments change. This is exemplified in the major epidemiological transitions achieved in Western countries over the past 150 years which accompanied the socioeconomic changes associated with the transition to an industrial capitalist society.
