Susmita Bhattacharya MBBS MD
Professor and Head Department of Community Medicine Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Government Medical College,
Kolhapur, Maharashtra India
Published by
Jitendar P Vij
Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd
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Epidemiology: Principles and Practice
© 2010, Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication should be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author and the publisher.
First Edition: 2010
9788184489248
Typeset at JPBMP typesetting unit
Printed at
4Dedicated to
My Late Parents
5Preface
Epidemiology as a branch of Community Medicine always challenged me. I learnt epidemiology as I started teaching Community Medicine decades back. I usually asked my students about topics they found difficult to comprehend; the subject epidemiology was always one amongst them. This prompted me to write this book. I have written this book in a simple way. My sole aim is to make learning of epidemiology simple, practical and interesting for undergraduate students.
My teachers, colleague, and students, all helped me to understand, interpret and present the topics. This happened over the years through discussions, seminars and paper presentations at conferences. However the questions asked by my students helped me most to understand and interpret the subject.
In my endeavor, I received help from my colleagues I sincerely thank them. I would like to mention two of my colleagues: Dr Sangita Shelke and Dr Sudesh Gandham for helping me in my work. I specially acknowledge Mr YB Bisht Senior Sales Executive of Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd for his coordination and co-operation. He rendered help very efficiently and promptly. I thank M/s Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd for turning my dream into reality.
Susmita Bhattacharya