285 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.
This nationwide small-area study in Italy reveals that heat-related mortality among older adults exhibits significant geographical disparities, with the highest risks concentrated in the south and Po Valley, and identifies socio-economic deprivation, limited green space, and specific demographic factors as key determinants of this vulnerability.
Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this study found that while child abuse significantly increases dementia risk, jointly examined modifiable factors like education, health behaviors, cardiovascular health, and mental health explain only a small portion (approximately 18%) of this association, with mental health accounting for nearly all of the mediated effect.
This paper proposes Information-Geometric Meta-Integration (IGMI), a framework that pools study distributions as weighted Fréchet means under various geometries to unify classical meta-analysis methods, derive exact heterogeneity statistics, and provide robust, outlier-resistant multivariate estimates that outperform traditional approaches in predictive accuracy and invariance.
A retrospective study of over 550,000 dental encounters across five US academic institutions reveals that while Black, Hispanic, and other racial/ethnic groups had slightly lower odds of receiving any oral antibiotic compared to White patients, Black patients faced significantly higher odds of receiving excessive cumulative doses of clindamycin, a key risk factor for Clostridioides difficile infection.
Using linked Australian health registries, this study found that women undergoing medically assisted reproduction treatments had significantly higher rates of organized cervical screening but slightly lower or comparable rates of breast screening compared to matched women who did not receive such treatments.
This study demonstrates that a simplified serological algorithm using the A35R and B6R antigen pair accurately classifies MPXV exposure and vaccination status, offering a scalable alternative to complex multiplex assays for surveillance and vaccine evaluation.
This cross-sectional study in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, reveals that children exposed to biomass fuel use through domestic cooking and maternal occupational activities face significantly higher risks of respiratory symptoms and lung function impairments compared to those using gas, highlighting an urgent need for targeted interventions to reduce household air pollution in disadvantaged urban areas.
This study demonstrates that genomic recombination drives SARS-CoV-2 evolution by generating novel predominant strains and highlights the significant growth advantage of the recombinant variant XFG in Germany, underscoring the critical need for continuous surveillance of recombinant variants for public health.
This genomic epidemiology study of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany reveals that while population immunity exists, the virus's sustained spread is primarily driven by recombination events within the Omicron BA.2 lineage since mid-2024, highlighting the critical need for continued genomic surveillance to predict long-term transmission trends.
This study analyzes English national data from 2001 to 2023 to reveal that while incidence rates for 12 cancers are rising in adults aged 20–49, mortality is increasing only for colorectal and endometrial cancers, with distinct stage-specific trends showing that colorectal and breast cancers are driving increases in late-stage disease.