On the epidemiology of 'mysterious' phenomena.

: In the field of epidemiology, research topics are favored or dismissed depending on whether respective variables under investigation are believed to exist according to current scientific theories. Unconventional independent variables or exposures, such as religiousness and spirituality, and controversial dependent variables or outcomes, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, may be considered unacceptable topics for researchers because they do not fit comfortably into the consensus clinical perspectives of mainstream medical scientists or physicians. Disapproval of research in these and other taboo areas is generally masked by claims that such studies are "pseudoscientific," despite hundreds or thousands of peer-reviewed publications on these topics. In reality, seemingly "mysterious" variables are equally as amenable to epidemiologic research as any other exposure or disease. Similarly, alternative therapies are able to be investigated using existing methods, despite claims to the contrary. Such research is vital for scientific understanding to be expanded into new areas of inquiry.