[Epidemiology and Public Health: tendencies of the Brazilian epidemiology production regarding volume, indexation and investigation areas - 2001 to 2006]. / Epidemiologia e Saúde Coletiva: tendências da produção epidemiológica brasileira quanto ao volume, indexação e áreas de investigação - 2001 a 2006.

This article examines and interprets the trends of epidemiological production in Brazil in the Public Health context. CAPES indicators from 2001 to 2006 were used as database. We analyzed 26 programs and select the 10 major ones to analyze their bibliographic production in indexed journals. It was observed that the total production of epidemiological articles accounted for 40% of production in Public Health and 55% of the production was published in international journals, especially Cadernos de Saúde Pública, Revista de Saúde Pública and Ciência & Saúde Coletiva. The most prevalent themes were public health nutrition, maternal and infant health and, infectious diseases, particularly AIDS. Environmental e worker's heath, oral health, violence and health of the elderly have been ratified as objects of study for the discipline, while meta-analysis and geoprocessing appear as a useful tool for health services. We conclude that the epidemiological production tends to increase in indexed publications, covering various topics and a wide spectrum of relevant issues to Brazilian health policy.