Tobacco smoke and involuntary smoking -- An Introduction to Epidemiology -- Concepts and Methodological Approaches in Epidemiology -- Basic Concepts -- Rates, Risks, Measures of Association and Impact -- Descriptive Studies -- Use of Disease Registers -- Cohort Studies -- Case-Control Studies -- Modern Epidemiologic Study Designs -- Intervention Trials -- Confounding and Interaction -- Epidemiological Field Work in Population-Based Studies -- Exposure Assessment -- Design and Planning of Epidemiological Studies -- Quality Control and Good Epidemiological Practice -- Statistical Methods in Epidemiology -- Sample Size Determination in Epidemiologic Studies -- General Principles of Data Analysis: Continuous Covariables in Epidemiological Studies -- Regression Methods for Epidemiologic Analysis -- Survival Analysis -- Measurement Error -- Missing Data -- Meta-Analysis in Epidemiology -- Geographical Epidemiology -- Applications of Epidemiology -- Social Epidemiology -- Occupational Epidemiology -- Environmental Epidemiology -- Nutritional Epidemiology -- Reproductive Epidemiology -- Molecular Epidemiology -- Genetic Epidemiology -- Clinical Epidemiology -- Pharmacoepidemiology -- Screening -- Community-based Health Promotion -- Research Areas in Epidemiology -- Infectious Disease Epidemiology -- Cardiovascular Diseases -- Cancer Epidemiology -- Musculoskeletal Disorders -- Health Services Research -- Epidemiology in Developing Countries -- Ethical Aspects of Epidemiological Research.When I was learning epidemiology nearly 50 years ago, there was barely one suitable textbook and a handful of specialized monographs to guide me. Information and ideas in journals were pretty sparse too. That all began to change about 25 years ago and soon we had a plethora of books to consider when deciding on something to recommend to students at every level from beginners to advanced postgraduates. This one is different from all the others. There has never been a single source of detailed descriptive accounts and informed discussions of all the essential aspects of practical epidemiology, written by experts and intended as a desk reference for mature epidemiologists who are in practice, probably already specializing in a particular ?eld, but in need of current information and ideas about every aspect of the state of the art and science. Without a work like this, it is dif?cult to stay abreast of the times. A comprehensive current overview like this where each chapter is written by acknowledged experts chosen from a rich international pool of talent and expertise makes the task considerably easier.