Five Classic Articles in Public Health

In this brief review, Dr. Jonathan Borak comments on five seminal papers that helped shape the fields of epidemiology and public health. These papers include Hill’s criteria for inferring causality; the first proof of the multistage theory of cancer; the first evidence that subclinical lead exposures can cause neurobehavioral impairment in children; a simple yet robust study that had a major influence on setting current air pollution policies; and a landmark review of the general public’s perception of risk in relation to actual public health hazard.