摘要：The frequency of hospitalization among the elderly in the United States caused by gastrointestinal diseases between 1991 and 2004 increased dramatically, especially hospitalization of elderly individuals with nonspecific diagnoses. We analyzed 6 640 304 gastrointestinal disease–associated hospitalization records in this 14-year period by comparing the peak times of nonspecific gastrointestinal diseases with those of specific diseases. We found that most nonspecific gastrointestinal diseases peak concurrently with viral enteritis, suggesting a lack of diagnostic testing for viruses, which may adversely affect the efficiency of prevention, surveillance, and treatment efforts. The successful prevention of disease is best understood through the study of well-defined populations and outcomes. The aggregation of specific diseases, such as various gastrointestinal infections without diagnostic testing for specific causes, into nonspecific syndromic disease outcomes is common. This practice degrades the capacity to choose best preventive practices and eliminates the possibility of detecting newly emerging pathogens. The consequential public health implication can be more severe in vulnerable subpopulations such as the elderly, an immunologically weaker sector growing in both size and proportion in the United States. Infectious diseases, including gastrointestinal infections, typically demonstrate seasonal patterns, suggesting similarities in etiological properties, 1 – 3 dominant routes of transmission, and environmental determinants of these diseases. 4 , 5 Comparing the seasonal patterns of nonspecific diseases with the patterns of known diseases may hint at the identity of nonspecific pathogens. We documented the seasonal patterns for hospitalizations that involved specific and nonspecific gastrointestinal conditions and compared the times at which their incidence peaked.
