Nieuwsbericht UEG: White Book 2 publication

The 'Analysis of the Burden and Economic Impact of Digestive Diseases and Investigation of Research Gaps and Priorities in the Field of Digestive Health' - in short 'White Book 2' - has recently been published in the UEG Journal.

Some key information:

• The reports make comparison between all UEG countries on the burden of a lot of digestive diseases. Have a look at the first part on the burden.
• The second part combines an analysis of the survey distributed last year to national societies, a bibliometric analysis of published literature by topic and disorder, and the level of funding in Horizon 2020.
• The report identifies that digestive diseases affect over 300 million people across Europe and the Mediterranean area and that the associated economic costs are substantial.
• The incidence and mortality rates for all digestive cancers combined have increased by 26% and 17% respectively in the period 2000-2019.
• The burden of digestive diseases tends to be higher amongst UEG member countries within Central and Eastern Europe compared to Western and Southern Europe.
• Increasing trends in digestive disease burden due to high body mass index (BMI) across the continent. And, whilst some progress has been made to reduce alcohol attributable burden since the year 2000, alcohol use remains a major contributor to disease burden. One element of positive news to come out of the study is the decrease in health burden related to smoking across almost all European countries, following national intervention strategies.

Find more information in the Executive Summary, in the editorial, and in the full reports.

Presentation & discussion concerning the results of the White Book 2 will take place during the National Societies Forum and Meeting of Members meetings at UEG Week!