Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Subfield · Medicine

Epidemiology research

Epidemiology is a subfield of Medicine. Science Explorer counts 1.6M research works in it since 1950. 16.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: study of the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions.

Research works
1.6M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
271k
per year above
Top-10% rate
16.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
42
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+27%
the tick is no change

This ranks research output and citation impact. It says nothing about the quality of diagnosis, treatment or care.

What is Epidemiology research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Epidemiology, Global Burden, Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Risk Factors. Gaining share since 2009–13: Cardiovascular Diseases, Prevention, Public Health, Risk Factors, Quality of Life. Losing share: Antiviral Therapy, Immune Response, Vaccine, Vaccine Development.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Epidemiology176k◆ 0.94×22 topics
  2. Global Burden39k◆ 0.90×3 topics
  3. Insulin Resistance39k◆ 0.98×2 topics
  4. Metabolic Syndrome39k◆ 0.98×2 topics
  5. Hepatocellular Carcinoma39k◆ 0.93×2 topics
  6. Risk Factors35k▲ 1.69×3 topics
  7. Diagnosis32k◆ 0.92×4 topics
  8. Treatment31k◆ 0.93×5 topics
  9. NAFLD29k◆ 1.11×1 topic
  10. NASH29k◆ 1.11×1 topic
  11. Inflammation26k◆ 0.96×3 topics
  12. Infection23k◆ 0.97×2 topics
  13. Immune Response23k▼ 0.69×3 topics
  14. Public Health22k▲ 1.99×2 topics
  15. Vaccine Development21k▼ 0.76×3 topics
  16. Clinical Practice Guidelines20k◆ 1.11×2 topics
  17. Neurodevelopmental Outcomes19k◆ 1.01×2 topics
  18. Sepsis19k▲ 1.29×2 topics
  19. Antiviral Therapy18k▼ 0.65×2 topics
  20. Cancer Incidence18k◆ 0.90×2 topics
  21. Antimicrobial Resistance18k◆ 0.93×2 topics
  22. Ischemic Stroke17k▲ 1.22×1 topic
  23. Thrombolysis17k▲ 1.22×1 topic
  24. Complications17k◆ 1.05×2 topics
  25. Antibiotic Resistance15k◆ 0.89×3 topics
  26. Management15k▲ 1.30×1 topic
  27. Septic Shock15k▲ 1.30×1 topic
  28. Surgical Management15k◆ 1.02×2 topics
  29. HIV15k◆ 0.97×2 topics
  30. Cardiac Surgery14k◆ 1.05×1 topic
  31. Congenital Heart Disease14k◆ 1.05×1 topic
  32. Antifungal Therapy14k◆ 0.96×2 topics
  33. Cardiovascular Diseases14k▲ 4.1×1 topic
  34. Prevention14k▲ 4.1×1 topic
  35. Quality of Life13k▲ 1.39×2 topics
  36. Vaccine13k▼ 0.74×2 topics
  37. Cervical Cancer12k◆ 0.87×1 topic
  38. Human Papillomavirus12k◆ 0.87×1 topic
  39. Bone Healing12k◆ 1.01×1 topic
  40. Fracture Epidemiology12k◆ 1.01×1 topic

Which countries lead Epidemiology research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, China and the United Kingdom rank highest in Epidemiology. By volume, the United States and China publish the most (70k and 43k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 15.4% top 10% · 70k works
  2. 2 China · #3 all time 23.5% top 10% · 43k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #2 all time 18.5% top 10% · 13k works
  4. 4 Italy · #7 all time 22.0% top 10% · 8.4k works
  5. 5 Germany · #4 all time 16.9% top 10% · 9k works
  6. 6 France · #5 all time 16.6% top 10% · 7k works
  7. 7 Canada · #6 all time 19.2% top 10% · 7.2k works
  8. 8 India · #14 all time 7.8% top 10% · 17k works
  9. 9 Australia · #8 all time 20.3% top 10% · 6.5k works
  10. 10 Spain · #11 all time 14.7% top 10% · 7.2k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 79 countries ranked in Epidemiology. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Epidemiology

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 70k works
  2. 2 China 43k works
  3. 3 India 17k works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 13k works
  5. 5 Japan 10k works
  6. 6 Germany 9k works
  7. 7 Brazil 8.6k works
  8. 8 Italy 8.4k works
  9. 9 Russia 7.6k works
  10. 10 Canada 7.2k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 36.1%China: 22.0%India: 8.9%United Kingdom: 6.6%6 others listed: 26.4%36%largest
United States70k · 36.1%China43k · 22.0%India17k · 8.9%United Kingdom13k · 6.6%6 others listed51k · 26.4%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Epidemiology research?

Harvard University (United States) ranks first in Epidemiology on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College and Johns Hopkins University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #1 all time 24.9% top 10% · 797 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College China · Beijing · #68 all time 24.8% top 10% · 835 works
  3. 3 Johns Hopkins University United States · Baltimore · #2 all time 21.2% top 10% · 802 works
  4. 4 University of Michigan United States · Ann Arbor · #7 all time 20.0% top 10% · 617 works
  5. 5 Stanford University United States · Stanford · #9 all time 21.1% top 10% · 524 works
  6. 6 University of Pennsylvania United States · Philadelphia · #8 all time 20.2% top 10% · 581 works
  7. 7 University College London United Kingdom · London · #13 all time 22.9% top 10% · 504 works
  8. 8 Peking University China · Beijing 24.3% top 10% · 544 works
  9. 9 Inserm France · Paris · #19 all time 23.0% top 10% · 498 works
  10. 10 University of California, San Francisco United States · San Francisco · #4 all time 20.8% top 10% · 569 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 976 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Epidemiology.

Top 100 Epidemiology institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States 1.1k works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College China 835 works
  3. 3 Johns Hopkins University United States 802 works
  4. 4 Harvard University United States 797 works
  5. 5 All India Institute of Medical Sciences India 646 works
  6. 6 Capital Medical University China 644 works
  7. 7 University of Michigan United States 617 works
  8. 8 Sun Yat-sen University China 592 works
  9. 9 Yale University United States 584 works
  10. 10 University of Pennsylvania United States 581 works

Who are the leading researchers in Epidemiology?

Among the most productive authors in Epidemiology, Jost B. Jonas, Graeme J. Hankey and Vivekanand Jha rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Jost B. Jonas Germany · #12 worldwide 7.7k citations · 243 works
  2. 2 Graeme J. Hankey Australia · #15 worldwide 7.2k citations · 205 works
  3. 3 Vivekanand Jha India · #18 worldwide 5.8k citations · 232 works
  4. 4 Christopher J L Murray United States · #23 worldwide 13k citations · 158 works
  5. 5 Reza Malekzadeh Iran · #24 worldwide 6.7k citations · 167 works
  6. 6 Zulfiqar A Bhutta Pakistan · #29 worldwide 7k citations · 258 works
  7. 7 Ziad A. Memish Saudi Arabia · #58 worldwide 5.3k citations · 162 works
  8. 8 Patrick M. Bossuyt Netherlands · #59 worldwide 14k citations · 137 works
  9. 9 Nelson Alvis‐Guzmán Colombia · #62 worldwide 7.7k citations · 138 works
  10. 10 Simon I Hay United States · #67 worldwide 12k citations · 134 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,806 highest-output authors in Epidemiology. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Epidemiology researchers

Where is Epidemiology research done?

The largest centres of Epidemiology research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), London (United Kingdom), Shanghai (China) and Moscow (Russia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Wavre, North Liberty and Kol'tsovo.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 6.4k works
  2. 2 London United Kingdom 4k works
  3. 3 Shanghai China 3.4k works
  4. 4 Moscow Russia 3.3k works
  5. 5 New York United States 3.3k works
  6. 6 Seoul South Korea 3k works
  7. 7 Guangzhou China 2.9k works
  8. 8 Tokyo Japan 2.7k works
  9. 9 Paris France 2.7k works
  10. 10 Boston United States 2.4k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. WavreBE · 59.9 works13×
  2. North LibertyUS · 21.4 works9.0×
  3. Kol'tsovoRU · 32.5 works8.5×
  4. AddlestoneGB · 28.3 works8.3×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Epidemiology than the world average.

See Epidemiology on the map

Epidemiology research by country

The best places for Epidemiology research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Epidemiology?

Among universities, judged by research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Harvard University and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 24.77%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine: 212, 28.6%Harvard University: 797, 24.9%Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College: 835, 24.8%Karolinska Institutet: 360, 25.4%Capital Medical University: 644, 21.1%Johns Hopkins University: 802, 21.2%University of Gondar: 156, 26.3%University of California, San Francisco: 569, 20.8%University of Oxford: 335, 29.0%Sichuan University: 576, 25.6%London School of Hyg…Karolinska InstitutetHarvard UniversityChinese Academy of M…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine United Kingdom 53.628.6%4.9×212 +35.3%
2Harvard University United States 49.224.9%2.2×797 +23.4%
3Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College China 48.924.8%3.0×835 +27.6%
4Karolinska Institutet Sweden 46.025.4%2.9×360 +8.0%
5Capital Medical University China 45.721.1%3.9×644 +26.0%
6Johns Hopkins University United States 45.421.2%2.6×802 +16.9%
7University of Gondar Ethiopia 43.926.3%3.6×156 +133.7%
8University of California, San Francisco United States 43.220.8%3.1×569 +16.4%
9University of Oxford United Kingdom 42.529.0%0.9×335 +32.6%
10Sichuan University China 42.425.6%1.2×576 +49.4%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Epidemiology research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 27% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Chronic Disease Management Strategies, Traumatic Brain Injury Research and Acute Ischemic Stroke Management.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Chronic Disease Management Strategies+240%
  2. Traumatic Brain Injury Research+161%
  3. Acute Ischemic Stroke Management+148%
  4. Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment+114%
  5. Infective Endocarditis Diagnosis and Management+109%
  6. Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment+95%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Epidemiology include?

Liver Disease Diagnosis …122kLiver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment: 122k fractional worksCongenital Heart Disease…63kCongenital Heart Disease Studies: 63k fractional worksAcute Ischemic Stroke Management: 62k fractional worksHepatitis B Virus Studies: 58k fractional worksCervical Cancer and HPV …56kCervical Cancer and HPV Research: 56k fractional worksSepsis Diagnosis and Treatment: 54k fractional worksBone fractures and treatments: 53k fractional worksCytomegalovirus and herpesvirus research: 52k fractional worksRespiratory viral infections research: 50k fractional worksHerpesvirus Infections and Treatments: 50k fractional worksMycobacterium research and diagnosis: 50k fractional worksSubstance Abuse Treatmen…49kSubstance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes: 49k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.