Walter O. Spitzer (1937–2006) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and risk factor, determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decision ...

and professor of epidemiology and health at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, a position he held from 1975 until his retirement in 1995.

Early life and education

Spitzer was born in Asuncion, Paraguay on February 19, 1937. He was the eldest son of Paul Rosenberg and Elsa Spitzer, both of whom were

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

missionaries. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1962 and his

Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health or Master of Philosophy in Public Health (M.P.H.), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.), International Masters for Healt ...

degree from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1970.

Career

From 1969 to 1975, Spitzer was a faculty member at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

. He was appointed a faculty member at McGill in 1975, and was credited with bringing its Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics to "new, more collegial premises". He chaired this department from 1984 to 1993. He was the founding co-editor of the ''Journal of Chronic Diseases'' in 1982, which he and co-editor

Alvan Feinstein Alvan R. Feinstein (December 4, 1925 – October 25, 2001) was an American clinician, researcher and an epidemiologist who made significant impact on clinical investigation, especially on the field of clinical epidemiology that he helped define. H ...

renamed the ''

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology The ''Journal of Clinical Epidemiology'' is a peer-reviewed journal of epidemiology. The journal was originally established as the ''Journal of Chronic Diseases'' in 1955 as a follow-up to Harry S. Truman's 1951 Presidential Task Force on national ...

'' in 1988. They served as the journal's co-editors until 1994. Spitzer was also the chair of the Quebec Task Force on Spinal Disorders, convened in 1983. He was elected to the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...

in 1985.

Research

Spitzer was noted for his research into the potential adverse effects of

oral contraceptive Oral contraceptives, abbreviated OCPs, also known as birth control pills, are medications taken by mouth for the purpose of birth control. Female Two types of female oral contraceptive pill, taken once per day, are widely available: * The combin ...

s. He has also been credited as a major figure in the development of the modern system of

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...

, along with

Archie Cochrane Archibald Leman Cochrane (12 January 1909 – 18 June 1988) was a Scottish doctor noted for his book ''Effectiveness and Efficiency: Random Reflections on Health Services''. This book advocated the use of randomized control trials to make med ...

and

David Sackett David Lawrence Sackett (November 17, 1934 – May 13, 2015) was an American-Canadian physician and a pioneer in evidence-based medicine. He is known as one of the fathers of Evidence-Based Medicine. He founded the first department of clinical ...

Ableist remarks and attitudes

Spitzer's remarks revealed research rooted in

ableism Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against people with Disability, disabilities or who are perceived to be disabled. Ableis ...

and disability discrimination, including a reference to people on the

autism spectrum The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

as having "a terminal illness... a dead soul in a live body." These remarks were looked back on by both autism experts and by individuals on the autism spectrum with renewed scrutiny as a result of the

neurodiversity Neurodiversity refers to diversity in the human brain and cognition, for instance in sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions. It was coined in 1998 by sociologist Judy Singer, who helped popularize the concept alo ...

and autism acceptance movements.

Death

Spitzer died on April 27, 2006, following complications of a car accident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spitzer, Walter O. Canadian epidemiologists 1937 births 2006 deaths People from Asunción Paraguayan emigrants to Canada McGill University faculty University of Toronto alumni Yale University alumni Medical journal editors McMaster University faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine