Historical perspective: the social determinants of disease – some blossoms

Introduction I had two great teachers in epidemiology: Len Syme and Geoffrey Rose. One had his thinking shaped by the insights of Durkheim, a great sociologist; the other by Pickering, a great hypertension specialist. One helped lay the foundations for social epidemiology; the other, if heeded, could change the way we think about public health. Both came to the conclusion that society mattered for health and that one could not understand the social rate of disease simply by studying individuals. The story of laying the foundations for social epidemiology is engagingly set out in the accompanying paper by Len Syme.[1] Geoffrey Rose's credo is beautifully articulated in his last book.[2]