Chronic disease prevention: public health potential and research needs

This paper, arising out of an event to honour the statistical and scientific contributions of Professor Peter Armitage, is concerned with research strategies and needs for chronic disease prevention. A few highlights from recent intervention trials for the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, fractures and diabetes is provided, along with a discussion of some settings where intervention trial results seem discrepant with a body of preceding observational data. This background is used to identify research strategies and infrastructure needs for moving this vitally important research area forward, for both chemoprevention and lifestyle modification interventions. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.