PMU44 FOODBORNE ILLNESSES AND CHRONIC SEQUELAE: A REVIEW OF DISEASE BURDEN EVALUATIONS

Abstract

Foodborne diseases represent a wide spectrum of illnesses and are a global public health problem. While their most common clinical presentation is acute gastrointestinal symptoms, chronic complications or sequelae can occur. This review focuses on the disease burden of chronic sequelae caused by foodborne illnesses. PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were screened to identify studies of chronic sequelae associated with foodborne illnesses. Articles published from January 2000 to November 2017 were considered for the following diseases: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) and Reactive Arthritis (ReA). Of the 130 papers considered in the review, 17 (13%) included a disease burden assessment for chronic sequelae. 9 (53%) of these studies were from Europe, 5 (29%) were from North America, 2 (12%) were from Oceania, and 1 (6%) was worldwide. 13 (76%) reported a single measure of disease burden. 9 (53%) studies reported cost-of-illness (COI), which measures costs related to resources used within the healthcare sector and by patients and their families as well as productivity losses, while 2 (12%) reported general or available costs. 9 (53%) included a non-monetary assessment of disease burden using DALY (disability-adjusted life year), which integrate morbidity and mortality into one metric; 2 (12%) provided YLD (years lost due to disability) and 1 (6%) used QALY (quality-adjusted life year). The most frequently estimated disease burdens were reported for Campylobacter, Salmonella, E.coli and Listeria. A growing number of publications have considered the disease burden of foodborne illnesses. However, the methodological frameworks of the studies identified in this review are heterogeneous and potentially difficult to interpret for decision-makers. Hence, more research is needed to further understand the disease burden of chronic sequelae caused by foodborne illnesses.