The effect of vaccination programs on transmission of infectious disease is usually assessed by monitoring programs that rely on notifications of symptomatic illness. For monitoring of infectious diseases with a high proportion of asymptomatic cases or a low reporting rate,

Genomic data will become an increasingly important component of epidemiologic studies in coming years. The authors of the accompanying Journal article, van Ballegooijen et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2009;170(12):1455-1463), are to be commended for attempting to use the coalescent analysis

The relation between sporadic gastroenteritis and recreational swimming was examined in a cohort of 2,811 people in Melbourne, Australia, over a 15-month period (September 1997-February 1999). Data from a prospective community-based study of gastroenteritis were used for a Poisson analysis

The authors explored the association of cigarette smoking with tuberculosis incidence, recurrence, and mortality. A 14-year prospective cohort study (1992-2006) was carried out in 1,294,504 South Koreans. Participants were grouped by smoking history, and the authors assessed tuberculosis incidence, mortality,

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the timing, dose, and source of folate during pregnancy on childhood asthma by using data from an Australian prospective birth cohort study (n = 557) from 1998 to 2005. At 3.5 years

The individual effect of functional single nucleotide polymorphisms within the catalase and myeloperoxidase genes (CAT and MPO) has been studied in relation to asthma; however, their interrelationship with ambient air pollution exposures has yet to be determined. The authors investigated

Few epidemiologic investigations of visceral adiposity and colorectal neoplasms have attempted the direct quantification of visceral fat. The authors measured visceral fat volume among middle-aged and elderly Japanese men and women who underwent colonoscopy and positron emission tomography/computed tomography for

Results of 3 previous studies suggest that use of aspirin is related to a reduced risk of endometrial cancer, at least in obese women (body mass index, 30 kg/m2). Using data obtained in a population-based, case-control study in western Washington

No known cohort study has investigated whether the Mediterranean diet can reduce incident coronary heart disease (CHD) events in a Mediterranean population. This study examined the relation between Mediterranean diet adherence and risk of incident CHD events in the 5

Seasonal influenza causes excess morbidity and mortality at the extremes of age: It disproportionately affects the very young and the very old, typically resulting in "U"-shaped age-distributed curves. By means of a well-established public health department surveillance system using positive

Discovering and understanding genetic risk factors for melanoma and their interactions with phenotype, sun exposure, and other risk factors could lead to new strategies for melanoma control. This paper describes the Australian Melanoma Family Study, which uses a multicenter, population-based,

Family studies of exceptional longevity can potentially identify genetic and other factors contributing to long life and healthy aging. Although such studies seek families that are exceptionally long lived, they also need living members who can provide DNA and phenotype

Few studies have evaluated the validity of adolescent diet recall after many decades. Between 1943 and 1970, yearly diet records were completed by parents of adolescents participating in an ongoing US study. In 2005-2006, study participants who had been 13-18

Mammographic density is one of the strongest predictors of breast cancer risk. Typically expressed as a percentage of the breast area occupied by radiologically dense tissue on a mammogram, its full value may not be realized because of its negative