Burden of gastrointestinal illness in Sweden-SMS as a tool for collecting self-reported gastrointestinal illness

Abstract

We collected monthly reports on gastrointestinal illness (GII) episodes among 2348 adults in a 1-year cohort in South West Sweden. The GII episodes were collected by SMS (Short Message System) and validated by telephone interviews among the cohort participants and nationwide. The annual incidence was 0.64 and 0.43 cases per person-year for 28-day self-defined GII (any symptom) and acute GII (vomiting and/or ≥3 episodes of diarrhoea), respectively. The incidence was about 20% higher for the 14-day recall, compared with 28-day recall. The duration of illness was on average 2.3 days. We observed a unimodal seasonal distribution of GII, with the highest prevalence during winter. Responses collected by SMS highly correlated with responses collected by telephone. SMS survey was an efficient tool for the collection of repeated estimates of GII.

Prevalence and distribution of acute gastrointestinal illness in the community of China: a population-based face-to-face survey, 2014–2015

“…Several cross-sectional surveys have been conducted in other countries to estimate the prevalence and distribution of AGI. In America [ 15 , 28 – 38 ], Europe [ 2 , 16 – 18 , 39 – 44 ], Oceania [ 45 , 46 ], Asia [ 47 ] and Africa [ 48 ].…”

Health risks due to intrusion into the drinking water distribution network: hydraulic modelling and quantitative microbial risk assessment

“…59) and 0.43 (ref. 60) cases per person per year, with epidemiological studies in Scandinavia estimating the AGI proportion attributable to water distribution network incidents to be 37–38% (equivalent to 0.10–0.12 cases per person per year). 14 Other studies have shown that excess cases due to tap water consumption may be in the range of 14–40%.…”

“…The predicted incidence of AGI cases due to norovirus using the median daily infection risks for all scenarios was 0.07 cases/personyear (min, max: 0.02 -4.4) [calculations not shown]. The incidence of AGI in Sweden has been estimated at 0.36 59 and 0.43 60 cases/person/year, with epidemiological studies in Scandinavia estimating the AGI proportion attributable to water distribution network incidents to be 37% -38% (equivalent to 0.10 -0.12 cases/person/year). 14 Other studies have shown that excess cases due to tap water consumption may be in the range of 14% -40%.…”

Prevalence And Distribution Of Acute Gastrointestinal Illness In The Community Of China: A Population-Based Face-To-Face Survey, 2014-2015

“…Several cross-sectional surveys have been conducted in other countries to estimate the prevalence and distribution of AGI. In America [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38], Europe [2,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47], Oceania [48,49], Asia [50] and Africa [51].…”