Epidemiology. 2008 Jan;19(1):158-62.

Seven deadly sins of environmental epidemiology and the virtues of precaution.

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Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. pgrand@hsph.harvard.edu

Abstract

The potentials for error in planning, conducting, reporting, and utilizing epidemiologic results can be considered in terms of the traditional 7 deadly sins. To counter these sins, epidemiologic virtues should be inspired by the precautionary principle. The remedies emphasize acknowledgment and exploration of the impact of uncertainties, weight-of-the-evidence assessments that consider what could be known given the opportunities for research, and epidemiologic strategies that facilitate the use of tentative, though innovative, studies in decision-making.

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