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. 2006 Dec 19:6:307.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-6-307.

Population distribution and burden of acute gastrointestinal illness in British Columbia, Canada

M Kate Thomas  1 , Shannon E Majowicz, Laura MacDougall, Paul N Sockett, Suzie J Kovacs, Murray Fyfe, Victoria L Edge, Kathryn Doré, James A Flint, Spencer Henson, Andria Q Jones
Affiliations

Population distribution and burden of acute gastrointestinal illness in British Columbia, Canada

M Kate Thomas et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: In developed countries, gastrointestinal illness (GI) is typically mild and self-limiting, however, it has considerable economic impact due to high morbidity.

Methods: The magnitude and distribution of acute GI in British Columbia (BC), Canada was evaluated via a cross-sectional telephone survey of 4,612 randomly selected residents, conducted from June 2002 to June 2003. Respondents were asked if they had experienced vomiting or diarrhoea in the 28 days prior to the interview.

Results: A response rate of 44.3% was achieved. A monthly prevalence of 9.2% (95% CI 8.4-10.0), an incidence rate of 1.3 (95% CI 1.1-1.4) episodes of acute GI per person-year, and an average probability that an individual developed illness in the year of 71.6% (95% CI 68.0-74.8), weighted by population size were observed. The average duration of illness was 3.7 days, translating into 19.2 million days annually of acute GI in BC.

Conclusion: The results corroborate those from previous Canadian and international studies, highlighting the substantial burden of acute GI.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Response rate and survey outcomes for the retrospective telephone survey of acute gastrointestinal illness conducted in the province of British Columbia, Canada.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Monthly prevalence of acute gastrointestinal illness by age group and gender, in the province of British Columbia, Canada, showing p-values < 0.10, indicating association between prevalence and gender, per age group.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Monthly prevalence of acute gastrointestinal illness by age group and primary symptom, in the province of British Columbia, Canada.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Monthly prevalence of acute gastrointestinal illness by study month with three month moving average, in the province of British Columbia, Canada.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Three-month moving average of monthly prevalence of acute gastrointestinal illness by study month and age group (in years), in the province of British Columbia, Canada.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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