Biodemographic perspectives for epidemiologists

doi:10.1186/1742-7622-2-10

Emerging Themes in Epidemiology

Volume 2

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Biodemographic perspectives for epidemiologists

S Jay Olshansky¹ , Mark Grant¹ , Jacob Brody¹ and Bruce A Carnes²

¹School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

²Reynolds Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

author email corresponding author email

Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2005, 2:10doi:10.1186/1742-7622-2-10


Published:	30 September 2005

Abstract

A new scientific discipline arose in the late 20^thcentury known as biodemography. When applied to aging, biodemography is the scientific study of common age patterns and causes of death observed among humans and other sexually reproducing species and the biological forces that contribute to them. Biodemography is interdisciplinary, involving a combination of the population sciences and such fields as molecular and evolutionary biology. Researchers in this emerging field have discovered attributes of aging and death in humans that may very well change the way epidemiologists view and study the causes and expression of disease. In this paper, the biodemography of aging is introduced in light of traditional epidemiologic models of disease causation and death.