Learning objectives

The course in theoretical and applied Medical Statistics andEpidemiology aims at providing students with basic statistical knowledge, necessary to correctly interpret quantitative data from groups of individuals, by separating general mathematical laws from inter-individual variability. For this purpose, the main concepts of descriptive statistics, probability theory and inferential statistics will be presented, along with the main elements of descriptive, analytic and evaluative epidemiology. The illustration of statistical and epidemiological theory will be integrated with computer practice, where students will be asked to solve simple exercises by using a spreadsheet or freely available simple statistical software. Statistical and epidemiological methods will be applied to the health sciences, with particular focus on human nutrition. On completion of the course, the student should be able to appropriately describe the information collected on a group of patients, generalize the information provided by a sample to the source population, estimate disease frequency in human populations and evaluate related risk factors, particularly in the nutritional field.

Examination methods The exam consists of a written verification also with exercises of the level of knowledge on the course topics.
To pass the exam, students will have to prove their understanding of basic statistical and epidemiological concepts. In addition, students will be asked to solve simple exercises in the nutritional field, by applying statistical-epidemiological methods. Students will be asked not only to correctly perform.