Smolensky M H
Pathol Biol (Paris). 1987 Jun;35(6):991-1004.
Epidemiology and chronobiology are two emerging scientific disciplines of the 20th century. In the United States and certain European and Asian countries, epidemiology is a well-developed science; however, in many countries the field is not yet well practiced. Too, in several European countries and certain centers in the United States, chronobiology is quite well known and respected as a science. Yet, in many countries this field is just now being recognized. Although epidemiologists are concerned with temporal patterns in illnesses, primarily in terms of the prevalence and incidence of human disease, for the most part they do not consider biological rhythmic phenomena relevant to their pursuits. The symptoms, signs and tests which document illness and determine prevalence and incidence all may be influenced by when evaluations are conducted with respect to the staging of biological rhythms. Chronobiologists, on the other hand, have in too many instances been overly concerned with the elucidation and quantification of human bioperiodicities without regard to their relevance to temporal patterns in the occurrence of exacerbation of illness and matters of particular importance to epidemiologists. Herein, the topic of epidemiology and chronobiology is discussed in terms of the relevance of each field to the other.
流行病学和时间生物学是20世纪新兴的两门科学学科。在美国以及某些欧洲和亚洲国家，流行病学是一门发展完善的科学；然而，在许多国家，该领域的实践尚不完善。同样，在几个欧洲国家和美国的某些中心，时间生物学作为一门科学广为人知且备受尊重。然而，在许多国家，这个领域才刚刚被认可。尽管流行病学家关注疾病的时间模式，主要是从人类疾病的患病率和发病率方面，但在很大程度上，他们并不认为生物节律现象与他们的研究相关。记录疾病并确定患病率和发病率的症状、体征和检查，都可能受到评估时间相对于生物节律阶段的影响。另一方面，时间生物学家在太多情况下过于关注人类生物周期的阐明和量化，而不考虑它们与疾病加重发生的时间模式以及对流行病学家特别重要的问题的相关性。在此，将从两个领域相互关联的角度讨论流行病学和时间生物学这一主题。
