📊 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

Evaluating the Sensitivity of Event-Based Surveillance and Timeliness of Event and Indicator-Based Surveillance Systems in Kenya Using the 7-1-7 Metrics: A Multi-County Analysis, 2021-2025

This multi-county analysis in Kenya (2021–2025) demonstrates that while Event-Based Surveillance (EBS) significantly enhances early outbreak detection and notification, Indicator-Based Surveillance (IBS) is more effective for timely response, highlighting the need to leverage the complementary strengths of both systems to meet the 7-1-7 global timeliness targets.

Mamuti, S., Ngere, P., Omia, D., Mulaku, M., Osoro, E., Njenga, K., Munyua, P., Ngere, I.2026-08-10
📊 epidemiology

Minimal measurement strategies for cardiometabolic risk classification within the Positive Health framework: A cross-sectional analysis of NHANES 1999-2004 data

This cross-sectional analysis of NHANES data demonstrates that a parsimonious set of self-measurable indicators, particularly the waist-to-height ratio, achieves cardiometabolic risk classification performance comparable to more complex measurement strategies, suggesting that minimal monitoring approaches are feasible for population health settings.

Schorr, K., van den Broek, T., van den Eijnden, M., Hoevenaars, F., Wopereis, S.2026-08-10
📊 epidemiology

Mapping the Pandemics Echo: Dynamic Narrative Detection and Spatio-Temporal Sentiment Modeling of COVID-19 Discourse on Twitter

This paper introduces a novel spatio-temporal framework combining COVID-Twitter-BERT and BERTopic to analyze 2.4 million geolocated tweets, revealing how COVID-19 narratives and sentiments evolved across distinct pandemic phases and varied significantly between US and European regions.

maaskri, m., Abdelfatah, M., Mohamed, G., Mohamed, D., Djamal, S.2026-08-07
📊 epidemiology

Health impacts of national and local air pollution control policies targeting electric generating units, mobile sources, and port activities in three US cities

This study estimates that US air pollution control policies targeting electric generating units, mobile sources, and port activities significantly reduced ambient pollutant concentrations between 2005 and 2019, thereby averting a substantial percentage of respiratory emergency department visits in New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, as well as cardiovascular visits in New York City and Los Angeles.

Zhang, H., Chang, H. H., Gao, Z., D'Souza, R. R., Scovronick, N., Hopke, P. K., Rich, D. Q., Russell, A. G., Ebelt, S.2026-08-05
📊 epidemiology

Identifying leptospirosis hotspots in Fiji using a One Health model that incorporates watershed-scale pathogen transport

This study presents a novel One Health modeling approach that integrates causal Bayesian networks with hydrological pathogen transport to identify leptospirosis hotspots in Fiji, demonstrating that incorporating expert elicitation significantly improves predictive accuracy and supports the design of targeted, environment-based disease prevention strategies.

Wakwella, A. R., Klein, C. J., Woodberry, O., Lau, C. L., Wenger, A., Jupiter, S. D., Jenkins, A. P., Mayfield, H. J.2026-08-04
📊 epidemiology

Prevalence and Determinants of Scabies Infection among Male Inmates at Kiambu Main Prison, Kenya: A Mixed-Methods Cross-Sectional Study

This mixed-methods study conducted at Kiambu Main Prison in Kenya reveals a high scabies prevalence of 54.8% among male inmates, identifying inadequate hygiene practices, overcrowding, and institutional resource limitations as key determinants while recommending enhanced screening, education, and treatment protocols to mitigate transmission.

Kulundu, E. M., Onkoba, W. N., Ngwawe, C. O.2026-08-04
📊 epidemiology

Employing Data-Driven Techniques to Explore the Lay Public's Health Concerns with Vaping E-Cigarettes

This study employs a data-driven analysis of over 10 million posts from the r/electronic_cigarette subreddit to identify and categorize the public's specific health concerns regarding vaping, revealing that respiratory issues like lipoid pneumonia are the most frequently cited risks.

Ayers, J. W., Poliak, A., DeLucia, A., Zhu, Z., Pitts, S., Navarro, M., Shojaie, S., Dredze, M.2026-08-02
📊 epidemiology

Investigating pathways of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) contamination and transmission in intensive care units: a prospective genomic surveillance study

This prospective genomic surveillance study of ICUs reveals that while patient-to-patient transmission occurs, the majority of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) movement between patients is facilitated by healthcare providers' hands and environmental surfaces, highlighting that relying solely on patient sampling significantly underestimates the true burden and transmission pathways of VRE.

O'Sullivan, T., Tanner, W. D., Brazelton, W., Khader, K., Haroldsen, C., Orleans, B., Samore, M. H., Rubin, M., Keegan (…)2026-07-30