Epidemiology of Chronic Disease: Global Perspectives is the most current and authoritative resource on the epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, risk factors and preventive factors of forty common chronic diseases. This comprehensive text provides readers with an excellent basis for examining current hypotheses regarding chronic disease epidemiology. Organized into eight sections, the text begins with an introductory chapter examines the new public health environment in which chronic diseases have replaced acute infectious conditions concurrent with improved health care and increasing longevity in many populations of the world. Subsequent sections cover cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, major forms of cancer, diseases of the respiratory tract, metabolic and digestive diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and finally, three infectious diseases that often manifest as chronic conditions. Special sections in each chapter focus on controversial topics that can serve as a launching point for classroom discussion of molecular mechanisms of disease pathogenesis and the relevant epidemiologic issues pertaining to the prevention and control of chronic diseases.