Occurrence of Anaemia in the First Year of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in a European Population-based Inception Cohort-An ECCO-EpiCom Study.

Background And Aims: Anaemia is an important complication of inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anaemia and the practice of anaemia screening during the first year following diagnosis, in a European prospective population-based inception cohort.

Methods: Newly diagnosed IBD patients were included and followed prospectively for 1 year in 29 European and one Australian centre.

Effect of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on nasopharyngeal carriage by respiratory pathogens among Greenlandic children.

Background: In 2010, Greenland introduced the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar 13®- PCV-13) in the childhood immunisation program. The authors aimed to evaluate the impact of PCV-13 on nasopharyngeal carriage of bacteria frequently associated with respiratory infections in children.

Method: In 2013 a cross-sectional population-based study of nasopharyngeal carriage was conducted among Greenlandic children aged 0-6 years and results were compared with an equivalent study from 2011.

Erythema nodosum and the risk of tuberculosis in a high incidence setting.

Objective: This study estimates the erythema nodosum (EN) incidence in a tuberculosis (TB) endemic setting and evaluates the likelihood of a subsequent TB diagnosis among individuals with infection (MTI) with or without EN.

Design: We estimated EN incidence rates (IRs) in East Greenland in 2010-2011 and conducted a cohort study following all individuals who tested positive for MTI from 1 January 2010 until 31 December 2012. A personal identifier allowed individual follow-up in the mandatory TB register.

Tracing Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission by whole genome sequencing in a high incidence setting: a retrospective population-based study in East Greenland.

In East Greenland, a dramatic increase of tuberculosis (TB) incidence has been observed in recent years. Classical genotyping suggests a genetically similar Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain population as cause, however, precise transmission patterns are unclear. We performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) of Mtb isolates from 98% of culture-positive TB cases through 21 years (n = 182) which revealed four genomic clusters of the Euro-American lineage (mainly sub-lineage 4.

Nasopharyngeal bacterial carriage in young children in Greenland: a population at high risk of respiratory infections.

The incidence of childhood respiratory infections in Greenland is among the highest globally. We performed a population-based study of 352 Greenlandic children aged 0-6 years aiming to describe rates and risk factors for carriage of four key bacteria associated with respiratory infections, their antimicrobial susceptibility and inter-bacterial associations. Nasopharyngeal swabs were tested for Streptococcus pneumoniae grouped by serotypes included (VT) or not included (NVT) in the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, non-typable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), Staphylococcus aureus and Moraxella catarrhalis.

Hepatitis B prevalence and incidence in Greenland: a population-based cohort study.

Greenland remains a highly endemic area for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This is in sharp contrast to other modern societies, such as Denmark. To address this discrepancy, we investigated the natural history of HBV infection in Greenland by estimating the age-specific incidence of HBV infection, the proportion of chronic carriers, and the rates of hepatitis B surface antigen seroclearance.

Costs and resource utilization for diagnosis and treatment during the initial year in a European inflammatory bowel disease inception cohort: an ECCO-EpiCom Study.

Background: No direct comparison of health care cost in patients with inflammatory bowel disease across the European continent exists. The aim of this study was to assess the costs of investigations and treatment for diagnostics and during the first year after diagnosis in Europe.

Methods: The EpiCom cohort is a prospective population-based inception cohort of unselected inflammatory bowel disease patients from 31 Western and Eastern European centers.

Health-related quality of life improves during one year of medical and surgical treatment in a European population-based inception cohort of patients with inflammatory bowel disease--an ECCO-EpiCom study.

Background & Aims: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is impaired in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The aim was prospectively to assess and validate the pattern of HRQoL in an unselected, population-based inception cohort of IBD patients from Eastern and Western Europe.

Methods: The EpiCom inception cohort consists of 1560 IBD patients from 31 European centres covering a background population of approximately 10.

Health care and patients' education in a European inflammatory bowel disease inception cohort: an ECCO-EpiCom study.

Background And Aims: The EpiCom study and inception cohort was initiated in 2010 in 31 centers from 14 Western and 8 Eastern European countries, covering a 10.1million person background population. Our aim was to investigate whether there is a difference between Eastern and Western Europe in health care and education of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Environmental factors in a population-based inception cohort of inflammatory bowel disease patients in Europe--an ECCO-EpiCom study.

Background And Aims: The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing in Eastern Europe possibly due to changes in environmental factors towards a more "westernised" standard of living. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in exposure to environmental factors prior to diagnosis in Eastern and Western European IBD patients.

Methods: The EpiCom cohort is a population-based, prospective inception cohort of 1560 unselected IBD patients from 31 European countries covering a background population of 10.

Initial disease course and treatment in an inflammatory bowel disease inception cohort in Europe: the ECCO-EpiCom cohort.

Background: The EpiCom cohort is a prospective, population-based, inception cohort of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients from 31 European centers covering a background population of 10.1 million. The aim of this study was to assess the 1-year outcome in the EpiCom cohort.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis outbreak strain of Danish origin spreading at worrying rates among greenland-born persons in Denmark and Greenland.

Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis continues at high rates among Greenland-born persons in Greenland and Denmark, with 203 and 450 notified cases per 10(5) population, respectively, in the year 2010. Here, we document that the predominant M. tuberculosis outbreak strain C2/1112-15 of Danish origin has been transmitted to Greenland-born persons in Denmark and subsequently to Greenland, where it is spreading at worrying rates and adding to the already heavy tuberculosis burden in this population group.

East-West gradient in the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in Europe: the ECCO-EpiCom inception cohort.

Objective: The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing in Eastern Europe. The reasons for these changes remain unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether an East-West gradient in the incidence of IBD in Europe exists.

The HIV epidemic in Greenland--a slow spreading infection among adult heterosexual Greenlanders.

Introduction: We aimed to characterise the HIV epidemic in Greenland and to determine incidence, prevalence, mortality rates (MR) and specific causes of deaths.

Study Design: The study design used was population-based nationwide cohort study.

Methods: We included all patients diagnosed with HIV in Greenland before 2011.

Living conditions, quality of life, adherence and treatment outcome in Greenlandic HIV patients.

Objectives: Despite a high level of sexually transmitted infections, HIV incidence has remained quite stable in Greenland with 5-6 new cases per year (approximately 10 per 100,000). However, disease control is suboptimal and mortality is relatively high. The aim of the present study was to determine associations between adherence to treatment and treatment outcome, living conditions and quality of life among HIV patients in Greenland.

Risk factors for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among children in Greenland.

Objective: To examine the risk factors for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (MTI) among Greenlandic children for the purpose of identifying those at highest risk of infection.

Methods: Between 2005 and 2007, 1797 Greenlandic schoolchildren in five different areas were tested for MTI with an interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) and a tuberculin skin test (TST). Parents or guardians were surveyed using a standardized self-administered questionnaire to obtain data on crowding in the household, parents' educational level and the child's health status.

Hepatocellular carcinoma and other liver disease among Greenlanders chronically infected with hepatitis B virus: a population-based study.

Background: In Greenland, the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen carriers, reflecting chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, is 5%-10%. However, the incidence of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in this population has been reported to be low. We investigated this discrepancy in a large population-based cohort study.

Effectiveness of the targeted hepatitis B vaccination program in Greenland.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination program in Greenland, which targets children born to mothers who are positive for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), we determined vaccination coverage, levels of postvaccination antibodies, and frequency of breakthrough infections in at-risk children.

Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study with data from nationwide registries. We identified all children born to HBsAg-positive mothers from 1992 to 2007 and collected data on their HBV vaccination status.

Demographic and clinical characteristics in relation to patient and health system delays in a tuberculosis low-incidence country.

Background: Delays in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) are commonly encountered.

Methods: A study was undertaken among pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) patients in a Danish university hospital to describe demographic and clinical characteristics in relation to delay.

Results: Of the 313 patients enrolled, 213 (68%) were diagnosed with PTB and 100 (32%) with EPTB only.

Effect of sex, age, and race on the clinical presentation of tuberculosis: a 15-year population-based study.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is an important health problem that may cause serious morbidity and diagnostic challenges. We conducted a case-control study involving 5,684, approximately 99% of bacteriologically confirmed TB patients (including 1,925 EPTB cases) diagnosed in Denmark and Greenland during 1992-2007 to gain insight to the role of host factors in EPTB pathogenesis. Among patients from Somalia and Asia, persons 25-44 and 45-64 years of age were more likely to have EPTB than persons 15-24 years of age.

A homozygous nonsense mutation (c.214C->A) in the biliverdin reductase alpha gene (BLVRA) results in accumulation of biliverdin during episodes of cholestasis.

Background: Green jaundice is a rare finding usually associated with end-stage liver disease. OBJECTIVE The authors investigated two unrelated Inuit women from different geographical areas in Greenland who had episodes of green jaundice associated with biliary obstruction.

Methods And Results: The crises were accompanied by increased biochemical markers of cholestasis, together with absent or moderate hyperbilirubinaemia.

Risk factors for tuberculosis in Greenland: case-control study.

Setting And Objective: Despite several efforts aiming at disease control, the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) remains high in Greenland, averaging 131 per 100,000 population during the period 1998-2007. The purpose of the present study was to disclose risk factors for TB.

Methods: A case-control study was performed among 146 patients diagnosed with TB in the period 2004-2006.