📊 Category

epidemiology

357 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

Longitudinal clustering of health behaviours and their association with multimorbidity: Evidence from Understanding Society (UKHLS)

Using longitudinal data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, this study identifies seven stable clusters of health behaviors across adulthood and reveals a counterintuitive association where the "Overall Low-risk" behavioral cluster, characterized by older women with lower socioeconomic status, exhibits the highest prevalence of multimorbidity, highlighting the critical importance of considering sociodemographic context alongside behavioral patterns.

Suhag, A., Webb, T. L., Holmes, J.2026-02-17
📊 epidemiology

Distribution of Vector Abundance and Infection Rates in Relation to Human Vector-Borne Disease Cases in Nebraska

This study analyzes retrospective surveillance data from 2012 to 2024 to characterize the distribution of mosquito and tick vectors and their pathogen infection rates in Nebraska, finding that while mosquito-borne diseases remain the primary concern with significant geographic variation, data limitations currently hinder definitive conclusions about the direct relationship between vector factors and human disease incidence.

Uhm, S. A., Smith, H., Chen, S., Iwen, P. C., McCutchen, E., Bartling, A., Cortinas, R., Brett-Major, D., Broadhurst, M. (…)2026-02-15
📊 epidemiology

Assessing the risk of early-onset dementia within 5 years of cancer diagnosis

This longitudinal study of Medicaid beneficiaries found that the diagnosis of lung, colon, breast, or prostate cancer was not strongly associated with an increased risk of early-onset dementia within five years, as incidence rates remained comparable between cancer patients and matched controls.

Joshu, C. E., Palatino, M., Xu, X., Zhou, Y., Wentz, E., Rudolph, J. E., Yenokyan, K., Calkins, K., Lau, B.2026-02-15
📊 epidemiology

Retracted randomized trials from super-retractors and top-cited scientists with multiple retractions

This study reveals that a small, concentrated group of highly influential authors, particularly "super-retractors" and top-cited scientists with multiple retractions, are disproportionately responsible for a significant portion of retracted randomized clinical trials, which tend to be older, take longer to retract, and accumulate more citations than other retracted studies.

Lyu, C., Matbouriahi, M., Naudet, F., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Cristea, I. A.2026-02-13
📊 epidemiology

Trajectories of pain and cognitive function: 22 years of evidence in mid-to-later life

Based on 22 years of longitudinal data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this study finds that while higher baseline pain severity is independently associated with accelerated cognitive decline in later life, the association between worsening pain severity and cognitive decline becomes non-significant after adjusting for ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and comorbid chronic conditions.

Andres, S., Cox, S. R., Fawns-Ritchie, C.2026-02-13