Instructions for Authors

Nonadherence to medical therapy is frequently encountered in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to identify predictors for future (non)adherence in IBD

Current and future Burden of Communicable Diseases in the European Union and EEA/EFTA countries (BCoDE). Methodology protocol

Mangen M-J, Gibbons C, Kretzschmar M, et al. Current and future Burden of Communicable Diseases in the European Union and EEA/EFTA countries (BCoDE). Methodology protocol. ECDC Technical Report. Stockholm: ECDC; 2011

Current and future Burden of Communicable Diseases in the European Union and EEA/EFTA countries (BCoDE). Methodology protocol

Mangen M-J, Gibbons C, Kretzschmar M, et al. Current and future Burden of Communicable Diseases in the European Union and EEA/EFTA countries (BCoDE). Methodology protocol. ECDC Technical Report. Stockholm: ECDC; 2011

Measuring underreporting and under-ascertainment in infectious disease datasets: a comparison of methods

Gibbons CL, Mangen M-JJ, Plaß D, et al. Measuring underreporting and under-ascertainment in infectious disease datasets: a comparison of methods. BMC Public Health. 2014;14(1): 147.Background: Efficient and reliable surveillance and notification systems are vital for monitoring public health and disease outbreaks. However, most surveillance and notification systems are affected by a degree of underestimation (UE) and therefore uncertainty surrounds the 'true' incidence of disease affecting morbidity and mortality rates. Surveillance systems fail to capture cases at two distinct levels of the surveillance pyramid: from the community since not all cases seek healthcare (under-ascertainment), and at the healthcare-level, representing a failure to adequately report symptomatic cases that have sought medical advice (underreporting). There are several methods to estimate the extent of under-ascertainment and underreporting. Methods: Within the context of the ECDC-funded Burden of Communicable Diseases in Europe (BCoDE)-project, an extensive literature review was conducted to identify studies that estimate ascertainment or reporting rates for salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis in European Union Member States (MS) plus European Free Trade Area (EFTA) countries Iceland, Norway and Switzerland and four other OECD countries (USA, Canada, Australia and Japan). Multiplication factors (MFs), a measure of the magnitude of underestimation, were taken directly from the literature or derived (where the proportion of underestimated, under-ascertained, or underreported cases was known) and compared for the two pathogens. Results: MFs varied between and within diseases and countries, representing a need to carefully select the most appropriate MFs and methods for calculating them. The most appropriate MFs are often disease-,country-, age-, and sex-specific. Conclusions: When routine data are used to make decisions on resource allocation or to estimate epidemiological parameters in populations, it becomes important to understand when, where and to what extent these data represent the true picture of disease, and in some instances (such as priority setting) it is necessary to adjust for underestimation. MFs can be used to adjust notification and surveillance data to provide more realistic estimates of incidence

Health and economic burden of Campylobacter

&lt;p&gt;Burden assessment plays an increasingly important and accepted role in food safety decision making. Burden assessment is a top–down approach that uses available epidemiological data, for example, generated through surveillance systems, to generate estimates of the health and economic impact of the concerned foodborne disease. In this Chapter, we review methods for quantifying the health and economic impact of Campylobacter. Estimates of the health impact of Campylobacter, quantified as the number of disability-adjusted life years due to acute illness, sequelae, and death, are now available at global and national level. Campylobacter is estimated to be the sixth most important contributor to the global burden of foodborne disease, and is consistently ranked among the leading causes of foodborne disease burden in high-income countries. Estimates of the Campylobacter cost-of-illness (COI) are available for several countries, and information is increasingly being generated on industry and government costs.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the Incredible Years Parenting Program as an Indicated Prevention of Child Conduct Problems

Conduct problems in childhood affect the daily lives of children and their families and have serious economic implications for society. The Incredible Years parent program (IY) is a manualized behavioral parent training that aims to improve parenting skills in order to reduce conduct problems of children. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of IY, compared to care-as-usual (CAU), in preschoolers at risk for a chronic pattern of conduct problems. In a case-control design with a two-year follow-up, we assessed intervention costs, use of public services (e.g., healthcare and special education), property damage, travel costs, and parental productivity losses. Conduct problems reduced in children in the IY condition, relative to CAU. From the public authorities perspective, the net costs to reduce the child’s conduct problems by one point of observed conduct problems (meaning a reduction of one disruptive behavior each 20 minutes) were €187. Taking the parents’ perspective and the societal perspective it was €88 and €155, respectively

The impact of community-acquired pneumonia on the health-related quality-of-life in elderly

BACKGROUND: The sustained health-related quality-of-life of patients surviving community-acquired pneumonia has not been accurately quantified. The aim of the current study was to quantify differences in health-related quality-of-life of community-dwelling elderly with and without community-acquired pneumonia during a 12-month follow-up period. METHODS: In a matched cohort study design, nested in a prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial on the efficacy of the 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine in community-dwelling persons of ≥65 years, health-related quality-of-life was assessed in 562 subjects hospitalized with suspected community-acquired pneumonia (i.e. diseased cohort) and 1145 unaffected persons (i.e. non-diseased cohort) matched to pneumonia cases on age, sex, and health status (EQ-5D-3L-index). Health-related quality-of-life was determined 1-2 weeks after hospital discharge/inclusion and 1, 6 and 12 months thereafter, using Euroqol EQ-5D-3L and Short Form-36 Health survey questionnaires. One-year quality-adjusted life years (QALY) were estimated for both diseased and non-diseased cohorts. Separate analyses were performed for pneumonia cases with and without radiologically confirmed community-acquired pneumonia. RESULTS: The one-year excess QALY loss attributed to community-acquired pneumonia was 0.13. Mortality in the post-discharge follow-up year was 8.4% in community-acquired pneumonia patients and 1.2% in non-diseased persons (p < 0.001). During follow-up health-related quality-of-life was persistently lower in community-acquired pneumonia patients, compared to non-diseased persons, but differences in health-related quality-of-life between radiologically confirmed and non-confirmed community-acquired pneumonia cases were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Community-acquired pneumonia was associated with a six-fold increased mortality and 16% lower quality-of-life in the post-discharge year among patients surviving hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia, compared to non-diseased persons. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00812084