Abstract
Epidemiology is research on the frequency and causes of diseases or syndromes in different populations. The baseline idea of epidemiology is that disease and causal factors are not distributed at random in human populations. Individuals who develop a disease are expected to be exposed to antecedent risk factors to a greater degree or for a longer time than are individuals who stay healthy. It is important to bear in mind that epidemiology estimates the association between risk factors and diseases in statistical terms.
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Elfering, A., Mannion, A.F. (2008). Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Spinal Disorders. In: Boos, N., Aebi, M. (eds) Spinal Disorders. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-69091-7_6
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