John Graunt is known for what type of publication?

• A. Randomized trial of scurvy
• B. A comparative study of mortality and morbidity in human populations
• C. A clinical guideline for bubonic plague
• D. A registry of smallpox cases

Answer: (B)

Descriptive epidemiology using population mortality data is being tested here. John Graunt’s work analyzed population-level death records to describe patterns in mortality and morbidity across groups and over time. In his Natural and Political Observations Made upon the Bills of Mortality, he used the Bills of Mortality—the weekly counts of births and deaths in London—to summarize life expectancy, age structure, seasonal trends, and broad causes of death. This represents a systematic, comparative analysis of health in a population, laying the groundwork for modern epidemiology. It isn’t about a randomized trial, a clinical guideline, or a single-disease registry, but about describing health patterns in a whole community using population data.