title: The burden of acute gastrointestinal illness in Ontario, Canada, 2005-2006.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. sargeanj@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sargeant
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Majowicz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Snelgrove
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors