📊 Category

epidemiology

354 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

Rural-urban disparities and associated factors of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Zambia: A convergent mixed-methods study using the Proximate Determinant Framework.

This convergent mixed-methods study in Zambia reveals that SARS-CoV-2 infection disparities across rural, peri-urban, and urban settings are driven primarily by demographic, behavioral, and health-system factors rather than geographic residence alone, underscoring the need for context-specific prevention strategies and equitable access to testing and vaccines.

Wantakisha, E. W. R., Nyirenda, S., Narayani, M.2026-08-31
📊 epidemiology

Software Application Profile: A real-time surveillance system for monitoring heat exposure and its health impacts - presenting the Rio de Janeiro Heat Dashboard

This paper presents the Rio de Janeiro Heat Dashboard, a real-time R/Shiny surveillance system that integrates climatic and health data to monitor heat exposure, classify alert levels, and track health impacts as a core component of Brazil's first municipal heat protocol.

de Araujo Morais, J. H., Dias Ferreira, C., Saraceni, V., Medeiros de Oliveira Cruz, D., Mateus Oliveira Aguilar, G., Cr (…)2026-08-31
📊 epidemiology

Socioeconomic position, adverse childhood experiences, and menstrual symptoms in two generations of a prospective UK cohort.

This study of two generations in a UK cohort reveals that socioeconomic disadvantage and adverse childhood experiences are significantly associated with increased odds of various menstrual symptoms, including pain, irregular cycles, and bleeding disorders, indicating that these health issues disproportionately affect socially and economically disadvantaged women.

Sawyer, G., Farooq, B., Birnie, K., Fraser, A., Lawlor, D. A., Sharp, G. C., Howe, L. D.2026-08-31
📊 epidemiology

Understanding RSV Resurgence Following COVID-19 in Ontario, Canada: Evaluating the Roles of Contact Patterns and Maternal Immunity

This study of Ontario infants found that while maternal immunity is crucial for individual protection, incorporating time-varying maternal immunity did not improve model predictions of post-pandemic RSV resurgence, indicating that shifts in population-level contact patterns were the primary drivers of the observed transmission dynamics.

Parpia, A., Wright, J., Gharouni, A., Thampi, N., Fitzpatrick, T.2026-08-31
📊 epidemiology

Associations between adult obesity and mid-life weight change patterns with cardiometabolic health in early old age: Evidence from the 1958 British birth cohort

Using data from the 1958 British birth cohort, this study demonstrates that while mid-life weight gain into obesity accelerates cardiometabolic decline, losing weight from obesity in later midlife can restore cardiometabolic health trajectories to levels comparable to those of individuals with a healthy weight.

Bridger Staatz, C., Gimeno, L., Sattar, N., Chaturvedi, N., Ploubidis, G. B.2026-08-28
📊 epidemiology

Towards a participatory European social contact observatory

This study demonstrates that participatory digital surveillance using InfluenzaNet data can generate valid, longitudinal social contact matrices linked with health and demographic information, establishing a scalable foundation for a European social contact observatory to support epidemic modeling and public health preparedness.

Kelley, K. N., Backer, J., Coletti, P., Gozzi, N., Hermans, L., Hens, N., Loedy, N., Mazzoli, M., Torneri, A., van Hoek (…)2026-08-27
📊 epidemiology

Health, behavioural, and social correlates of depressive symptoms among Brazilian adults: a preregistered exposure-wide association study with discovery and replication in two independent nationally representative cross-sectional surveys

This preregistered study utilizing two independent nationally representative Brazilian surveys identified and replicated 21 health, behavioral, and social correlates of depressive symptoms, with self-rated health showing the strongest association, thereby providing a reproducible map for future longitudinal research while acknowledging the cross-sectional design's inability to establish causality.

Santos, B. d. S., Passos, I. C.2026-08-27
📊 epidemiology

Quantifying the Optimism of Naive Cross-Validation for Binary Outcome Prediction with Repeated-Measures Predictors: A Simulation Study and Clinical Illustration

This study demonstrates that applying observation-level cross-validation to repeated-measures data with binary outcomes significantly overestimates predictive performance, whereas subject-level partitioning effectively eliminates the primary source of this optimism and aligns closely with rigorous leave-one-cluster-out validation.

Hagan, J.2026-08-26
📊 epidemiology

Associations Between Body Mass Index, Visual Acuity, and Resting Heart Rate in Adolescents: A Multifactorial Analysis of Physical Examination Data

This multicentre retrospective study of over 130,000 adolescents reveals that higher BMI is independently associated with poorer visual acuity and elevated resting heart rate, with these relationships varying significantly by age and sex, thereby supporting the need for integrated, stratified screening strategies to address obesity, myopia, and cardiovascular risks simultaneously.

Li, Z., Liu, X., Teng, X., Wang, P., Zhang, Q., Li, H., Tan, Y., Zhuang, H., Zheng, W.2026-08-26