Epidemiological Reviews. Volume 2. 1980

A volume such as the one considered here is different from many of the "Reviews" books available today: (1) it is sponsored by two major scientific societies, The Society for Epidemiologic Research and the International Epidemiological Association; and (2) it is published under the editorial management of a major journal, the American Journal ofEpidemiology. We expect such a volume to be well edited and of high quality, and the result generally supports such an expectation. The target audience is not specifically indicated, but the editors state that their objectives regarding the length of papers lies between "the briefest summaries" and "the most exhaustive treatises." This allows for wide latitude, so its presence is no surprise. Papers range from 1 1 to 30 pages (including citations), with a median of 18 pages. The number of citations varies from 45 to 281, with a median of 90. The reviews will be helpful to professionals in other fields interested in the topics and to those wanting a general review/update or a start for a bibliographic search. The editors justify the volume on the basis of (1) the increasing importance of epidemiologic research in clinical medicine and public health; (2) the increased concern over environmental, iatrogenic, and pharmacologic hazards; and (3) the lack of any "other review series in the English language devoted wholly to epidemiology." The eleven reviews in Volume 2 include a discussion of four major methodologic strategies in "genetic epidemiology" (the definition of which is problematic); and several reviews on the epidemiology of specific conditions, or problems, such as environmental carcinogens, insulin-dependent diabetes (with emphasis on the role of virus infection), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), stroke, laryngeal cancer, Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, and fox rabies in Europe. The current status of the epidemiology of two diseases controllable by immunization (measles and rubella) is considered. The final paper reviews the nature and contributions of disease registries and suggests methods to evaluate the quality of the data derived from them. The papers are informative and thorough, if these topics interest you.