EPIDEMIOLOGY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PREVENTIVE DISCIPLINE OF MODERN MEDICINE (ON THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE, I.M. SECHENOV FIRST MOSCOW STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY)

Epidemiology is now considered to be a basic medical science belonging to the area of preventive medicine. Its main subject is pathology that manifests itself at the levels of the supraorganism (communities, populations), i.e. morbidity. Epidemiology deals with the incidence of any diseases regardless of their origin, especially as the latter of many diseases is still far from being deciphered. The epidemiology of communicable and non-communicable diseases comprises two sections of the single science. They are identical in their essence and have the common subject of investigation - morbidity (the population level of organization of pathology), a single scientific method (epidemiological), and an overall aim to prevent the incidence of diseases. Epidemiology is justly regarded as a main preventive discipline of modern medicine. The Department of Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, will be 80 years old in 2011. The department has been a methodical center in epidemiology teaching. Its researchers are actively engaged in educational-and-methodical and research work and take part in fulfilling educational and research grants. The department has a laboratory that aims to develop new technologies for the epidemiological surveillance and prevention of communicable diseases. There is an actively working student research circle. The department-trained specialists are the heads of the departments of epidemiology, research institutes, and laboratories in our country. The new stage of development will require that the department should do intensive educational-and-methodical, and research work.

epidemiology, epidemiological studies, morbidity, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, evidence-based medicine, preventive medicine, educational-and-methodical work, research work