Neuroepidemiology

Gretchen L. Birbeck

Neuroepidemiology is the application of the methods of epidemiology to the problems of clinical neurology, to study the frequency of neurologic disorders, their risk factors, and their treatments. In addressing the distribution and determinants of neurologic disease in the population, the end goal of neuroepidemiology is to prevent or improve the outcomes of neurologic disease. According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, neuropsychiatric disorders account for more than 10% of the global burden of disease. This entry discusses the unique issues one must address in neuroepidemiological studies; considers neurologic disorders either infectious in nature or common enough to have implications for public health, as well as uncommon disorders that offer important lessons in the study of such conditions; outlines the process of events that must occur for case identification for inclusion in neuroepidemiological studies; and considers important outcome measures evolving in this field. The human nervous system comprises the brain, ...

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