Founded in April 2007, our department is part of the School of Public Health (SPH) within the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Tokyo.
Clinical epidemiology is highly clinical in that it deals with clinical issues, and it is also highly public health-oriented in that it uses epidemiological methods. As the foundation for evidence-based medicine (EBM), an international medical trend, clinical epidemiology’s importance continues to grow.
Furthermore, given limited medical resources and societal demands for medical efficiency in an aging population, health economics is more widely recognized than ever before.
Clinical medicine focuses on saving the lives of individual patients and restoring and maintaining their health. Conversely, economics discusses the optimal allocation of resources for society as a whole. Though these fields differ in methodology, they share the fundamental goal of achieving human well-being.
The School of Public Health (SPH) educates public health professionals who are experts and responsible citizens. Among these professionals, experts in clinical epidemiology and economics are a national priority.
Drawing on the quantitative analytical methods of epidemiology and economics, along with related sociological theories, this interdisciplinary field conducts research and education based on empirical data.
Research Activities
(1) Research Using Real-World Data
“Real-world data” refers to electronic data that is routinely recorded and accumulated in service fields, including medicine, health, and nursing care. In recent years, Japan has gradually established an environment for utilizing this type of data, and the number of studies using it has grown.
We conduct research on health, medical care, and nursing care using the following types of big data available in Japan:
• Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) data
• National Health Insurance Claims Database (NDB)
• Long-Term Care Claims Database
• JMDC data
• DeSC data
etc.
(2) Main research themes:
• Comparative effectiveness studies of medical services (e.g., pharmaceuticals, surgery, and rehabilitation).
• Epidemiology of rare diseases
• Identification of risk factors for disease onset and disease incidence prediction models
• Identification of prognostic factors for diseases and prognostic prediction models
・Cost analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis of medical services
Staff
Professor: Hideo Yasunaga
Associate Professor: Hiroki Matsui
Publication