An analysis has found that the number of self-reported illnesses appears to have increased as restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic were lifted.
The findings come from two reports published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which examined how COVID-19 prevention measures and associated behavioral changes affected infectious bowel disease (IID).
IID, also called gastroenteritis, can be caused by several pathogens, including Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), and norovirus. It can be obtained from various sources such as food, personal contact and water.
Previous research has shown that confirmed cases of IID-related diseases have decreased during the pandemic. However, this could not determine how many of the reductions were real and how many fewer people sought or accessed medical care.
Takeaway disease association
Six surveys were conducted between August 2020 and March 2022 to collect information on IID among the general population. Separate polls were conducted for adults and children, with parents responding on behalf of the children.
They asked whether the respondent had symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea associated with IID in the past 28 days. Another set of behavioral questions related to leaving home, going to work or school, using public transportation, eating food from different types of food establishments, and frequency of hand washing.
The studies found that eating food from takeaways or street food vendors in the past four weeks was consistently associated with an increased risk of Infectious bowel disease.
The later studies found that purchasing prepared food outside of work or school and eating food from a work or school canteen in the past month were positively associated with IID.
Analysis of the adult data sets found that removing food from takeaways or street vendors indicates an expected reduction in IID cases of 9 to 24 percent. Eliminating purchasing RTE food outside the workplace, school or university resulted in a 7 to 14 percent reduction in IID, and eating food from work, school or university canteens resulted in a 6 to 8 percent reduction .
Adults who ate from organized meal delivery services at least weekly often showed the strongest association with IID.
Medical corner
Estimated IID rates increased as COVID-19 restrictions eased. The first survey of adults ran in August and September 2020 and had a rate of 5.6 percent, compared to 7.8 percent in the same period the following year.
The proportion of adults with domestic IID who sought medical care for their illness increased significantly between the first and last surveys, when most restrictions had been relaxed.
For adults with IID, men were more likely to seek health care than women. In the early studies, other ethnic groups were more than double the odds of seeking care compared to white ethnicities.
There was inconsistency between handwashing behavior and its association with an increase or decrease in IID.
Researchers said the associations do not necessarily infer causality and could point to other causes, such as the likelihood and intensity of interaction with people outside the household.
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