| Walter O. Spitzer | |
| Birth Date: | 19 February 1937 |
| Birth Place: | Asuncion, Paraguay |
| Nationality: | Canadian |
| Occupation: | Epidemiologist |
Walter O. Spitzer (1937–2006) was a Canadian epidemiologist and professor of epidemiology and health at McGill University, a position he held from 1975 until his retirement in 1995.[1]
Spitzer was born in Asuncion, Paraguay on February 19, 1937. He was the eldest son of Paul Rosenberg and Elsa Spitzer,[2] both of whom were Baptist missionaries.[3] He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Toronto in 1962 and his Master of Public Health degree from Yale University in 1970.[1]
From 1969 to 1975, Spitzer was a faculty member at McMaster University.[1] 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".[3] He chaired this department from 1984 to 1993.[4] He was the founding co-editor of the Journal of Chronic Diseases in 1982, which he and co-editor Alvan Feinstein renamed the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology in 1988. They served as the journal's co-editors until 1994.[5] Spitzer was also the chair of the Quebec Task Force on Spinal Disorders, convened in 1983.[6] He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1985.[7]
Spitzer was noted for his research into the potential adverse effects of oral contraceptives.[8] [9] He has also been credited as a major figure in the development of the modern system of evidence-based medicine, along with Archie Cochrane and David Sackett.[10]
Spitzer died on April 27, 2006, following complications of a car accident.[1]