ArticleBMC public health2024
Estimating the risk of gastrointestinal illness associated with drinking tap water in Norway: a prospective cohort study.
Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Self-reported infections in Norway: a study of incidence, doctor visits, antibiotic use, and absence from work.BMC primary care · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe delivery of safe drinking water has high public health relevance, as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG6). Several precautionary actions have reduced the burden associated with infectious diseases in high-income countries; however, pollution in source waters, inadequate disinfection, and premise plumbing, along with an increased awareness that intrusion in the drinking water distribution system, represents risk factors for gastrointestinal illness linked to consume of drinking water. Sporadic cases of waterborne infections are expected to be underreported since a sick person is less likely to seek healthcare for a self-limiting gastrointestinal infection. Hence, knowledge on the true burden of waterborne diseases is scarce. The primary aim with the present study was to estimate the risk of gastrointestinal illness associated with drinking tap water in Norway.
methodsWe conducted a 12-month prospective cohort study where participants were recruited by telephone interview after invitation based on randomised selection. A start up e-survey were followed by 12 monthly SMS questionnaires to gather information on participants characteristics and drinking tap water (number of 0.2L glasses per day), incidence, duration and symptoms associated with gastrointestinal illness. Associations between the exposure of drinking tap water and the outcome of risk of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) were analysed with linear mixed effects models. Age, sex, education level and size of the drinking water supply were identified as potential confounders and included in the adjusted model.
resultsIn total, 9,946 persons participated in this cohort study, accounting for 11.5% of all invited participants. According to the data per person and month (99,446 monthly submissions), AGI was reported for 5,508 person-months (5.5 per 100 person-months). Severe AGI was reported in 819 person-months (0.8 per 100 person-months). Our study estimates that 2-4% of AGI in Norway is attributable to drinking tap water.
conclusionsThis is the largest cohort study in Norway estimating the burden of self-reported gastrointestinal infections linked to the amount of tap water drunk in Norway. The data indicate that waterborne AGI is not currently a burden in Norway, but the findings need to be used with caution. The importance of continued efforts and investments in the maintenance of drinking water supplies in Norway to address the low burden of sporadic waterborne cases and to prevent future outbreaks needs to be emphasised.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.