SUMMARYBackground: Diverticular disease emerged as a common problem in Western countries over the course of the 20th century. Aims: To determine the time trends in diverticular disease for hospital admissions in England between

Summary Background: The number of hospital admissions for acute and chronic pancreatitis increased in Britain from the 1960s to the 1980s. Aims: To determine time trends in acute and chronic pancreatitis for hospital admissions from 1989/90 to 1999/2000, mortality from 1979 to 1999, and various indices of alcohol consumption. Methods: Hospital Episode Statistics for admissions were obtained from the Department of Health and mortality data from the Office for National Statistics. Alcohol consumption data were obtained from the General Household Survey. Results: Between 1989/90 and 1999/2000, age‐standardized hospital admission rates for acute pancreatitis increased by 43%, whilst those for chronic pancreatitis rose by 100%. The proportions of admissions requiring surgical operations increased for acute pancreatitis, but declined for chronic pancreatitis. Case fatality rates for acute pancreatitis declined, but mortality statistics showed no significant change. The proportion of women who drank more than 14 units of alcohol a week also increased. Conclusions: There has been a steady increase in admission rates for both acute and chronic pancreatitis over the study period, and these conditions will become an increasingly important part of the workload of the gastroenterologist.

SUMMARYBackground: The number of operations for cholelithiasis increased from the 1950s to the 1990s. Aims: To determine the time trends in cholelithiasis for hospital admissions, operations and in-hospital case fatalities in England between 1989 ⁄ 1990 and 1999 ⁄ 2000, and population mortality rates between 1979 and 1999. Methods: Hospital Episode Statistics for admissions were obtained from the Department of Health and mortality data were obtained from the Office for National Statistics. Results: Between 1989 ⁄ 1990 and 1999 ⁄ 2000, agestandardized hospital admission rates for cholelithiasis increased by 30% for males and 64% for females. The

Background: Little is known about the burden of peptic ulcer in the community. Aims: To examine recent time trends in the period prevalence of peptic ulceration and its drug management, in England and Wales. Methods: For each year between 1994 and 1998, information on patients with a diagnosis of peptic ulceration was extracted from the General Practice Research Database. Results: The annual age‐standardized period prevalence of peptic ulceration decreased from 3.3/1000 in 1994 to 1.5/1000 in 1998 for men, and from 1.8/1000 to 0.9/1000 for women. This decline was more evident among younger people, and among males registered with practices located in the most deprived electoral wards compared to those located in the least deprived. The proportion of patients receiving H2 receptor antagonists declined from 68% in 1994 to 41% in 1998. In contrast, the proportion prescribed proton pump inhibitors rose from 46% to 66%. Conclusions: Over a 5‐year period, the period prevalence of peptic ulceration has decreased markedly, especially among younger people and those from more deprived areas.

Recently, a new approach for measuring well-being was developed by eighteen European countries in the wake of the “Beyond GDP movement” started in the 1990 and continued by the Stiglitz Commission. Among these European economies, eleven of them use measures of well-being for monitoring public policy. The Italian Statistical Institute (Istat) jointly with the National Council for Economics and Labor (CNEL) developed a multi-dimensional framework for measuring “equitable and sustainable well-being” (Bes) and since 2013 Istat publishes an annual report on well-being. The Bes framework is continuously updated to take into account new challenges: the exploitation of new data sources, to produce better indicators; new ways for making the communication more effective and foster public awareness; the inclusion of well-being indicators in the budget documents, as established by law. Especially for the latter, the Italian Bes can be considered a forerunner and, more generally, the Italian experience is one of the most relevant at the European level, showing potential of become a benchmark for other countries. This article illustrates the development of the Italian Bes, focusing on its recent progresses and challenges.