ABSTRACT
Epidemiology is usually regarded as a branch of medicine that deals with populations rather than individuals. Whereas the hospital clinician considers the best treatment and advice to give to each individual patient so as to enable her or him to get better, the epidemiologist considers what advice to give to the general population in order to lessen the overall burden of disease. However, due to its dealings with aggregations (of people), epidemiology is also an applied branch of statistics. Advances in epidemiological research have generally been achieved through interaction of the disciplines of medicine and statistics. Other professions frequently represented in epidemiological research groups are biochemists, sociologists and computing specialists. In specific instances, other professions, such as nutritionists and economists, might be included.
