Epidemiologic Transition

epidemiologic transition, the process by which the pattern of mortality and disease in a population is transformed from one of high mortality among infants and children and episodic famine and epidemics affecting all age groups to one of degenerative and human-made diseases (such as those attributed to smoking) affecting principally the elderly. It is generally believed that epidemiologic transitions prior to the 20th century (i.e., those that took place in today’s industrialized countries) were closely associated with rising standards of living, nutrition, and sanitation. In contrast, those occurring in developing countries beginning in the 20th century have been more or less independent of such internal socioeconomic development and more closely tied to organized health care and disease control programs developed and financed internationally. There is no doubt that 20th- and 21st-century declines in mortality in developing countries have been far more rapid than those that occurred in the 19th century in what are now the industrialized countries.