Epidemiology and Risk Assessment

This chapter provides an introduction to risk assessment, focusing on those aspects of risk assessment methodology most pertinent to epidemiologists and addressing the use of epidemiologic data in risk assessment. In the United States, quantitative risk assessment has become widely used for translating the findings of epidemiologic and toxicologic research into public policy; this methodology is also being advanced in other countries. A trend of including risk assessment in legislation related to environment regulation predicts increasing use. Epidemiologic data may have a prominent role in risk assessment, by providing information relevant to hazard identification, exposure assessment, and dose response.