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Chapter 1 - Epidemiology and Mental Health in Old Age

from Section 1 - Epidemiology and Types of Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2020

By
Philippa Lilford  and
Julian C Hughes
Edited by
Julian C. Hughes  and
Philippa Lilford
Julian C. Hughes
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Philippa Lilford
Affiliation:
Severn Deanery, University of Bristol
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Summary

Epidemiology is the study of disease and its determinants in populations. Epidemiological studies investigate what the patterns of diseases are and why they develop in particular populations. Epidemiology is important in improving our understanding of what causes disease. Similarly, understanding epidemiology and how to interpret observational data is crucial to avoid inaccurate causal inferences. Unfortunately, critically evaluating all of the data on mental health problems in old age was outside the scope of this chapter, but we try to highlight some important limitations and gaps in the literature. There are exciting developments in epidemiology that will guide our knowledge about the determinants of psychiatric disease. For example, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are increasing our understanding of genetic associations with psychiatric diseases.

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Chapter
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Clinical Topics in Old Age Psychiatry , pp. 5 - 23
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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