📊 Category

epidemiology

407 papers

Epidemiology is the study of how diseases spread through populations and what factors influence their patterns. Rather than focusing on individual patients, this field examines broader trends to identify outbreaks, track transmission, and guide public health decisions. By analyzing data on infection rates and risk factors, researchers work to prevent future health crises and protect communities worldwide.

On Gist.Science, we process every new preprint in this category directly from medRxiv to make these critical findings instantly accessible. For each study, we provide both a plain-language explanation for general readers and a detailed technical summary for specialists. This dual approach ensures that vital insights into disease dynamics are understood clearly and quickly by everyone who needs them.

Explore the latest research below to see how scientists are currently mapping disease trends and developing strategies to safeguard global health.

📊 epidemiology

Life-course patterns of heavy menstrual bleeding and menstrual pain across multiple population-based cohorts

This study analyzes six longitudinal population-based cohorts to reveal that heavy menstrual bleeding and menstrual pain are highly prevalent across the life course, with menstrual pain peaking in adolescence and heavy bleeding becoming more common in later reproductive years, while both symptoms disproportionately affect women from lower socioeconomic and minoritized ethnic backgrounds.

Kundu, S., Sawyer, G., Magnus, M. C., Howe, L. D., Fraser, A., Hickey, M., O'Mahen, H., Tyrrell, J., Maybin, J. A., Crit (…)2026-10-09
📊 epidemiology

Associations between commonly consumed beverages and the oral microbiome in three US cohort studies

This study of over 5,500 participants across three US cohorts reveals that among commonly consumed beverages, only alcohol consumption is significantly associated with alterations in oral microbiome diversity and composition, specifically increasing the abundance of taxa linked to poor oral health.

Ferro, L. E., Anyaso-Samuel, S., Yano, Y., Wan, Y., Hua, X., Chang, V. C., Dagnall, C. L., Jones, K., Hicks, B. D., Hutc (…)2026-10-09
📊 epidemiology

Cardiovascular and cancer mortality inversely associated with long-term ambient ultraviolet exposure across US Health Service Areas with UK Biobank corroboration

This study demonstrates that higher long-term ambient ultraviolet exposure is significantly associated with reduced cardiovascular and cancer mortality across US Health Service Areas, a finding partially corroborated by UK Biobank data despite observed racial heterogeneity suggesting potential residual confounding.

MacMahon, J., Emig, C., Hart, P. H., Wang, B., Weller, R., Dibben, C., Stevenson, A.2026-10-08
📊 epidemiology

Multicohort assessment of plasma metabolomic measurements across the atherosclerosis continuum

This multicohort study identifies a robust metabolomic signature across the atherosclerosis continuum, revealing specific plasma metabolites associated with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and plaque vulnerability that could enhance risk stratification and understanding of disease mechanisms.

Sayols-Baixeras, S., Pertiwi, K., Dekkers, K. F., Sharma, T., Raso, L. M., Delgado-Velandia, M., Baldanzi, G., Hammar, U (…)2026-10-07
📊 epidemiology

Mortality Baselines and Excess Mortality Events in Belgian and Greek Cities Using Singular Spectrum Analysis

This study utilizes Singular Spectrum Analysis with automated component selection and outlier interpolation to establish reproducible mortality baselines for six Belgian and Greek cities, revealing that while pandemic periods accounted for the majority of excess deaths, a significant number of events remained unexplained by temperature extremes or known epidemics.

Delforge, D., Charalampous, P., Bustos Sierra, N., De Clercq, E., Katragkou, E., Konstantinoudis, G., Kostoulas, P., Lam (…)2026-10-07
📊 epidemiology

Privacy-Preserving, Decentralised Inference of Epidemic Transmission Dynamics from Digital Exposure Histories

This paper presents a privacy-preserving, decentralized Bayesian framework that accurately infers epidemic transmission dynamics and reconstructs key epidemiological parameters from digital exposure histories, demonstrating that such data can effectively inform public health interventions while maintaining user privacy even under conditions of incomplete data and partial app adoption.

Kim, Y., Lambert, B., Ferretti, L., Kendall, M., Hinch, R., Webb, J., Rawson, T., Abeler-Doerner, L., Horby, P., Parker (…)2026-10-07
📊 epidemiology

Proteomic markers of colorectal cancer risk: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

This study identifies distinct pre-diagnostic proteomic profiles for colon and rectal cancers, highlighting COMP, MIC-1/GDF15, and TFF3 as robust biomarkers specifically associated with colon cancer risk through multi-cohort validation and Mendelian randomization.

Lee, M. A., Viallon, V., Muller, D. C., Wang, Z., Murphy, N., Yarmolinsky, J., Cross, A. J., Ferrari, P., Jakszyn, P., J (…)2026-10-07
📊 epidemiology

Predicting Cervical Cancer Screening Utilization Among Women of Reproductive Age in Ethiopia Using Supervised Machine Learning: A Nationally Representative 2024/25 EDHS Study

Using the 2024/25 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, this study developed and validated a probability-calibrated Extreme Gradient Boosting machine learning model that outperforms traditional methods in predicting cervical cancer screening utilization, identifying key socio-economic and behavioral drivers to guide targeted public health interventions.

Gebiru, A. M., Gelaw, N. B., Mekonen, D. K., Agazie, A. A., Kelkay, M. M., Gelaw, Y. D., Godana, T. N.2026-10-06
📊 epidemiology

Potential impact of changes in influenza vaccination coverage and effectiveness on pediatric influenza burden in the United States, 2022/23-2024/25

This study estimates that restoring pediatric influenza vaccination coverage to 2019/20 levels in the United States would significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths during the 2022/23–2024/25 seasons, demonstrating that improving vaccination rates is more impactful than modest increases in vaccine effectiveness alone.

Morris, S. E., Mathis, S. M., Chung, J. R., DeCuir, J., Olson, S. M., Ellington, S., O'Halloran, A., Ujamaa, D., Bozio (…)2026-10-01