A WALL Heath professor in public health is about to publish the latest edition of his prize-winning textbook to help medics to grapple with complicated statistics about diseases.

Professor Antony Stewart, who was born in Dudley, was educated at the town's Grammar School, now works at Staffordshire University and is an honorary consultant at Public Health England.

The fourth edition of his book, Basic Statistics and Epidemiology: A Practical Guide, is due to be published next month.

The last edition won the ‘basics of medicine’ category in the BMA Medical Book Awards of 2011, where comments were made that it should be on the syllabus of every medical school.

"I have added a couple of extra chapters and exercises into the new edition," said Mr Stewart, aged 54.

"Some people think epidemiology is a skin specialism - but it's the study of diseases in groups of people.

"When I was studying I couldn't understand the words my statistics lecturer used and had to work it out myself.

"In my book I try to help by assuming the reader does not know anything about it.

"Doctors, nurses and students have to do research, including looking at statistics about diseases in groups of people - and my book helps them to understand the words used and how to make sense of studies."

The book is due to be published by CRC Press on February 22, priced at £21.24 for the paperback.