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Geriatric Trauma and Critical Care pp 247–253Cite as

Epidemiology of Injury in the Elderly

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Abstract

The word epidemiology is derived from the Greek translation that means “the study of what is upon the people,” first coined by Hippocrates. The importance of epidemiology was described in his early work entitled On Airs, Waters and Places from 400 BCE [1]. In this classic work as well as others written by renowned philosophers and physicians such as James Lind and John Snow, the connection of patterns of health and disease occurrences in humans is studied in an effort to identify factors that influence of historically devastating diseases such as scurvy and cholera. The epidemiologic framework typically identifies the factors related to the host (intrinsic), the agent, and the environment (extrinsic factors) [2, 3]. Epidemiology seeks to understand how these factors interact to affect the risk of disease and, as will be described in this chapter, traumatic injury among the elderly.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Trauma, Acute Care and Critical Care Surgery, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Mail Code H075, Room C5523, 500 University Drive, 850, Hershey, PA, 17033-0850, USA

    Steven R. Allen MD, FACS

  2. Division of Acute Care Surgery, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Nicole Krumrei MD

  3. Division of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Patrick M. Reilly MD, FACS

Authors
  1. Steven R. Allen MD, FACS
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  2. Nicole Krumrei MD
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  3. Patrick M. Reilly MD, FACS
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven R. Allen MD, FACS .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Stritch School of Medicine Loyola University of Chicago Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Administration Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, USA

    Fred A. Luchette

  2. Professor of Surgery, Hofstra School of Medicine Medical Director for Surgical and Perioperative Services, Southside Hospital/Northwell Health, Bay Shore, New York, USA

    Jay A. Yelon

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Allen, S.R., Krumrei, N., Reilly, P.M. (2017). Epidemiology of Injury in the Elderly. In: Luchette, F., Yelon, J. (eds) Geriatric Trauma and Critical Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48687-1_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48687-1_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48685-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48687-1

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