Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine
The department of Public Health was established in 1952, in Gifu University School of Medicine. In 2002, as a result of the shift to a graduate school system in Gifu University, the department was renamed Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine.
Epidemiology is the study of the causes of disease in human populations. Many medical studies have investigated the mechanism of disease. However, we are interested in identifying risk factors for disease in epidemiologic research. Knowledge of these risk factors is used to direct further research and to implement disease prevention strategies. For example, consider the work done by John Snow in London during the middle of the nineteenth century. In London, several water companies were responsible for supplying water to different parts of the city. Snow found that nearly all of the cholera deaths had taken place within a short distance of the Broad Street pump and inferred that a “cholera poison” was transmitted in the water. The well pump’s handles were removed to disabled it; this action has been commonly credited as ending the outbreak. Not until 1883 did Robert Koch identify the cholera vibrio. In recent years, the global burden of disease has been shifting from infectious diseases to chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Smoking habits or lifestyle, including diet, has been implicated in the development of these diseases. Epidemiology plays an increasingly important role.