Environmental Epidemiology vs. Toxicology

Environmental epidemiology involves the study of human beings. Interventional studies are used to determine if a preventive intervention or a treatment lowers disease rates. Observational studies are used to identify risk factors or causes of disease in human populations. In evaluating the weight of evidence for causality, one of the Bradford Hill criteria—biologic plausibility—addresses evidence from laboratory toxicology studies of test animals, cells, and other laboratory data.

In your response, address the following:

• Explain how environmental epidemiology and toxicology are similar in terms of study objectives and study designs.
• Explain how environmental epidemiology and toxicology are different in terms of study objectives and study designs and the certainty with which conclusions from each type of research can be generalized to human populations.
• Discuss an example in which epidemiologic and toxicologic data are complementary in providing evidence of causality in a specific exposure-disease relationship.

Support your answers with appropriate research and reasoning and initiate comments on the postings of at least two of your peers.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Explained how environmental epidemiology and toxicology are similar in terms of study objectives and study designs.
• Explained how environmental epidemiology and toxicology are different in terms of study objectives and study designs and the certainty with which conclusions from each type of research can be generalized to human populations.
• Discussed an example in which epidemiologic and toxicologic data are complementary in providing evidence of causality in a specific exposure-disease relationship.
• Supported answers with appropriate research and reasoning and initiated comments on the postings of at least two peers.