Louis-René Villermé (1782–1863), a pioneer in social epidemiology: re-analysis of his data on comparative mortality in Paris in the early 19th century
BackgroundDuring the early 19th century, contagionists' and anti-contagionists' explanations of disease causes opposed one another, and the Hippocratic miasma theory still predominated. According to that theory, geographic health disparities could be explained by topographical factors: dif...
Saved in:
Published in | Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health Vol. 65; no. 8; pp. 666 - 670 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article Book Review |
Language | English |
Published |
London
BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
01.08.2011
BMJ Publishing Group BMJ Publishing Group LTD |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | BackgroundDuring the early 19th century, contagionists' and anti-contagionists' explanations of disease causes opposed one another, and the Hippocratic miasma theory still predominated. According to that theory, geographic health disparities could be explained by topographical factors: differences in altitude, population density or proximity to a river. This article summarizes the life of Louis-René Villermé (1782–1863) and his major contributions to social epidemiology that proved the association between poverty and mortality.MethodsIn this study, data reported by Villermé to study the mortality-rate variations across the 12 districts (arrondissements) of Paris—that is, 1817–1826 Parisian death rates by district, population density and income indicators—are presented and reanalyzed.ResultsResults obtained with today's statistical techniques (correlation analysis) support Villermé's claims of a direct poverty–high death rate link: the three income indicators that he chose were significantly correlated with at-home mortality: taxation index (r=–0.83, p<0.002), average rent (r=–0.83, p<0.002), trade taxation index (r=–0.67, p<0.05), while population density variables were not associated with mortality.ConclusionVillermé was not only a forerunner of social epidemiology, he was also a scientific pioneer by relying on data, not opinions, to challenge or support medical hypotheses. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | PMID:19767321 istex:411C277E36FE648D0ECA50BE57F3B66F5EC45B4E ArticleID:jech87957 href:jech-65-666.pdf local:jech;65/8/666 ark:/67375/NVC-C0KQ9CF1-4 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 ObjectType-Biography-3 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0143-005X 1470-2738 |
DOI: | 10.1136/jech.2009.087957 |