Estimating the under-reporting rate for infectious gastrointestinal illness in Ontario

BACKGROUND: In Ontario, infectious gastrointestinal illness (IGI) reporting can be represented by a linear model of several sequential steps required for a case to be captured in the provincial reportable disease surveillance system. Since reportable enteric data are known to represent only a small fraction of the total IGI in the community, the objective of this study was to estimate the under-reporting rate for IGI in Ontario. METHODS: A distribution of plausible values for the under-reporting rate was estimated by specifying input distributions for the proportions reported at each step in the reporting chain, and multiplying these distributions together using simulation methods. Input distributions (type of distribution and parameters) for the proportion of cases reported at each step of the reporting chain were determined using data from the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Studies on Acute Gastrointestinal Illness (NSAGI) initiative. RESULTS: For each case of enteric illness reported to the province of Ontario, the estimated number of cases of IGI in the community ranged from 105 to 1,389, with a median of 285, and a mean and standard deviation of 313 and 128, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Each case of enteric illness reported to the province of Ontario represents an estimated several hundred cases of IGI in the community. Thus, reportable disease data should be used with caution when estimating the burden of such illness. Program planners and public health personnel may want to consider this fact when developing population-based interventions.     

The burden of acute gastrointestinal illness in Ontario, Canada, 2005-2006

A retrospective, cross-sectional telephone survey (n=2090) was conducted in Ontario, Canada, between May 2005 and April 2006, to determine the burden of acute gastrointestinal illness in the population. The 4-week prevalence was 8.56% (95% CI 7.36-9.76); in households with more than one resident, 35% of cases reported someone else in their household had similar symptoms at the same time. The annual adjusted incidence rate was 1.17 (95% CI 0.99-1.35) episodes per person-year, with higher rates in females, rural residents, and in the winter and spring. Health care was sought by 22% of cases, of which 33% were asked to provide a stool sample. Interestingly, 2.2% of cases who did not visit a health-care provider reported self-administering antibiotics. Overall, acute gastrointestinal illness appears to pose a significant burden in the Ontario population. Further research into the specific aetiologies and risk factors is now needed to better target intervention strategies.     

Occupational cancer in developed countries

Studies of occupational exposures have made major contributions to our understanding of human carcinogenesis. About one third of the factors identified as definite or probable human carcinogens were first investigated in the workplace and these exposures exact a considerable toll on working populations. There are many additional workplace exposures that are suspect carcinogens that require further evaluation to ensure a safe work environment. Information from occupational investigations is also relevant to the general population because many occupational exposures can be found outside the workplace. Much of our understanding about occupational cancer has been obtained from studies largely composed of white men in developed countries. The movement of industry from developed to developing countries underscores the need for future investigations to include more diverse populations.     

江苏省2012年急性胃肠炎负担调查情况分析

目的了解江苏居民急性胃肠炎(AGI)负担情况及危险因素。方法 2012年,在江苏10个监测点每月采取整群随机的抽样方式,开展回顾性的横断面调查,并采用多因素非条件logistic回归评估潜在的危险因素。结果共调查12 003名居民,AGI月患病率3.5%,相当于0.50次/人年;秋季最高(4.5%),冬季最低(3.1%);<5岁儿童的患病率最高(10.8%),25~44岁最低(2.9%);38.3%的患者就诊,药物治疗病例中78.4%报告使用抗生素,32.9%使用止泻药。多因素回归分析显示,年龄、季节、监测点和旅游是AGI的影响因素。结论江苏省AGI负担重,使用抗生素、止泻药比例较高。     

北京市食源性胃肠炎的疾病负担

目的 了解北京市食源性胃肠炎的疾病负担,为食源性疾病的防治提供依据。方法 采用多阶段分层随机抽样方法,选取北京市6个监测地区内9885人,进行入户面对面调查,了解其过去4周急性胃肠炎的发病、就诊情况以及因急性胃肠炎产生的各类费用,计算急性胃肠炎的疾病负担;根据文献报道的急性胃肠炎的食源性比例,推算食源性胃肠炎疾病负担。结果 急性胃肠炎的年发病率为0.15次/人年(95%CI 0.13～0.16),估算调查期间北京市食源性胃肠炎发病人数为911 975人次。每年约有290 190人次就诊,9120人住院。北京市食源性胃肠炎的总经济负担为1.47亿元,约占全市年生产总值的0.07‰;其中直接费用1.07亿元(医疗费用0.94亿元,非医疗费用0.12亿元),间接费用0.40亿元。结论 北京市人群食源性胃肠炎的疾病负担不容忽视,应进一步完善食源性疾病主动监测体系,更准确地评估食源性疾病对社会和健康造成的影响。     

The determinants and effects of health expenditure in developed countries

Previous studies of international differences in health spending have been restricted to the use of relatively small samples of cross-sectional data. Our objective here is to re-examine the results of previous work using a sample of 560 pooled time-series and cross-section observations. Results confirm the importance of GDP as a determinant of health spending, with an estimated income elasticity at or around unity, but also suggest that OECD countries should not be regarded as a single, homogeneous group. The importance of some non-income variables is also confirmed, although the direct effect of these factors appears to be small.     

Overtreatment in threshold and developed countries

How neighbourhoods influence child maltreatment: a review of the literature and alternative pathways .
Coulton C.J. , Crampton D.S. , Irwin M. , Spilsbury J.C. & Korbin J.E. ( 2007 ) Child Abuse and Neglect , 31 , 1117 – 1142 .
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.03.023.     

The ethics of implementing human papillomavirus vaccination in developed countries

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the world??s most common sexually transmitted infection. It is a prerequisite for cervical cancer, the second most common cause of death in cancer among women worldwide, and is also believed to cause other anogenital and head and neck cancers. Vaccines that protect against the most common cancer-causing HPV types have recently become available, and different countries have taken different approaches to implementing vaccination. This paper examines the ethics of alternative HPV vaccination strategies. It devotes particular attention to the major arguments for and against one strategy: voluntary, publicly funded vaccination for all adolescent boys and girls. This approach seems attractive because it would protect more people against cervical cancer and other HPV-related cancers than less inclusive alternatives, without the sacrifice of autonomy that a comparably broad compulsory programme would require. Also, the herd immunity that it would likely generate would protect those who remain unvaccinated, a major advantage from a justice perspective. However, there is a possibility that a HPV vaccination programme targeting all adolescents of both sexes is not considered sufficiently cost-effective. Also, it might pose more difficulties for achieving informed consent than comparable vaccination programmes against other diseases. Ultimately, society??s choice of HPV vaccination strategy requires careful consideration not only of the values at stake but also of available and emerging scientific evidence.     

发达国家对药品市场的干预

政府对药品市场的干预是影响药品生产和消费的重要因素.该文详细介绍了发达国家对药品市场进行干预的目的、方式、效果,并对建立开放、竞争、有序的药品市场所需具备的要素进行了分析.     

Overtreatment in threshold and developed countries

Overtreatment in threshold and developed countries .
Frey B. ( 2008 ) Archives of Disease in Childhood , 93 , 260 – 263 .
DOI: 10.1136/adc.2007.124479 .     

Burden of acute gastrointestinal illness in Denmark 2009: a population-based telephone survey

A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted in Denmark throughout 2009 to determine the incidence of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI). Using the Danish population register, a random population sample stratified by gender and age groups was selected and mobile or landline phone numbers found. Representative numbers of interviews were performed by gender, age group and month. A recently proposed international case definition of AGI, including cases with diarrhoea and/or vomiting in a 4-week recall period, was used. A total of 1853 individuals were included and 206 (11·1%) fulfilled the case definition; 78% reported diarrhoea. This corresponds to an overall standardized incidence rate of 1·4 (95% CI 1·2-1·6) episodes of AGI per person-year. The incidence rate was generally higher in the younger age groups; only being 2·3, 1·9 and 0·80 per person-year in the 0-9, 10-39 and ≥40 years age groups, respectively. The incidence rate estimates were considerably higher when calculated from shorter recall periods.     

发达国家疾病管理的实施状况及启示

由于社会经济的发展、人民生活水平的提高，我国居民疾病谱发生了重大改变，以心脑血管病、恶性肿瘤、高血压病等为代表的一些慢性非传染性疾病已成为威胁我国居民健康的主要病种，同时也刺激着医疗费用飞速上涨，给社会带来了沉重的经济负担。目前，社会各界都在探讨控制医疗费用上涨的措施，而疾病管理正是许多发达国家用来控制慢性疾病医疗费用上涨的有效措施。为此，本刊特编发此文，介绍疾病管理的定义、内容、作用、制定过程及应用效果。同时也希望各位同仁献计献策，为控制医疗费用上涨而努力。[编者按]     

Magnitude and distribution of acute, self-reported gastrointestinal illness in a Canadian community

To estimate the magnitude and distribution of self-reported, acute gastrointestinal illness in a Canadian-based population, we conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional telephone survey of approximately 3500 randomly selected residents of the city of Hamilton (Ontario, Canada) from February 2001 to February 2002. The observed monthly prevalence was 10% (95 % CI 9.94-10.14) and the incidence rate was 1.3 (95 % CI 1.1-1.4) episodes per person-year; this is within the range of estimates from other developed countries. The prevalence was higher in females and in those aged < 10 years and 20-24 years. Overall, prevalence peaked in April and October, but a different temporal distribution was observed for those aged < 10 years. Although these data were derived from one community, they demonstrate that the epidemiology of acute gastrointestinal illness in a Canadian-based population is similar to that reported for other developed countries.     

湖北省急性胃肠炎疾病人群负担评估

目的 评估湖北省人群急性胃肠炎疾病负担。方法 采用多阶段整群随机抽样的方法抽取调查对象,2012年1-12月每月入户问卷调查其急性胃肠炎发生和就诊情况。结果 共调查3891人,急性胃肠炎月患病率为4.1%(95%CI=3.4%~4.7%),年发病概率为41.7%(95%CI=36.2%~46.6%),年发病率为0.49(95%CI=0.42~0.57)次/人年。按人口结构加权,加权月患病率为4.9%(95%CI=4.2%~5.6%),加权年发病概率为47.8%(95%CI=42.8%~52.8%),加权年发病率为0.65(95%CI=0.56~0.74)次/人年。由此推算,湖北省2012年共有3756.4万人次感染急性胃肠炎,因病就诊2434.1万人次,因病住院296.8万人次。结论 湖北省人群2012年急性胃肠炎疾病负担较重,政府应予以关注和重视。     

A prospective study of rural drinking water quality and acute gastrointestinal illness

Background  

This study examined the relationship between the bacteriological contamination of drinking water from private wells and acute gastrointestinal illness (AGII), using current government standards for safe drinking water.     

The burden of self-reported acute gastrointestinal illness in Italy: a retrospective survey, 2008-2009

A retrospective telephone survey (n = 3490) was conducted in Italy between 2008 and 2009 to estimate the occurrence of self-reported acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) and to describe subjects' recourse to healthcare, using a symptom-based case definition. Three hundred and ten AGI cases were identified. The annual incidence rate was 1.08 episodes/person-year (95% confidence interval 0.90-1.14). The proportion of subjects consulting physicians was 39.5% while only 0.3% submitted a specimen for laboratory investigation. Risk factors for AGI and medical care-seeking were identified using logistic regression analysis. Females, children and young adults had a significantly higher incidence rate of AGI. Factors associated with medical care-seeking were age <10 years, presence of fever, diarrhoea, and duration of illness >3 days. Our results provide a relevant contribution towards estimating the global burden of AGI using standard methods that ensure a good level of comparability with other studies.     

IUD-associated hospitalization in less developed countries.

Data on 11,977 insertions of an intrauterine device (IUD) from 25 collaborating centers in 16 less developed countries (LDCs) were investigated for IUD-associated hospitalizations. These centers maintained regular follow-up and reported at least one hospitalization among their IUD cases. The Lippes Loop, Copper T, Delta Loop, and Delta T were the most commonly used devices, and three-fourths of all devices were inserted in postpartum women. Fifty-five of the 128 reported subsequent hospitalizations were associated with IUD use. Main indications for IUD-associated hospitalizations were pelvic infection, bleeding/pain, and method failure. Statistically significant differences were not detected in the three-month gross cumulative rates for hospitalizations due to IUD complications by age (less than 30 vs 30+), parity (0-1 vs 2+), or device type (Lippes Loop and Copper T vs Delta devices vs others). Three types of IUD-associated hospitalization rates were calculated, each involving a margin of error: 1) a Pearl rate of 8.0 per 1,000 woman-years of IUD use; 2) a one-year life table rate of 6.3 per 1,000 insertions; and 3) crude rates ranging from 3.2 to 4.6 per 1,000 cases.