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Background: In Europe, the health situation is primarily influenced by non-communicable diseases. Comparable information on key indicators for the European region can highlight potential areas for improvement in prevention and care., Method: Based on EHIS 3, age-standardised prevalences of three disease groups and two indicators of self-assessed health among those affected were presented for Germany ( n = 22,708) and the average of 29 European countries ( n = 301,960)., Results: The disease prevalence estimates in Germany were higher compared to the European average: diabetes 8.4 % vs. 7.4 %, cardiovascular diseases 6.8 % vs. 5.7 %, chronic respiratory diseases 11.4 % vs. 7.9 %. Likewise, the proportion with self-assessed very good or good general health among those affected was also higher in Germany (diabetes 35.8 % vs. 30.7 %, cardiovascular diseases 25.3 % vs. 18.9 %, chronic respiratory diseases 44.7 % vs. 41.9 %). For limitations in everyday activities, higher proportions were found in Germany for diabetes (65.6 % vs. 60.6 %) and chronic respiratory diseases (64.5 % vs. 57.6 %). Germany showed similar gender-, age- and education-specific differences for disease prevalence, but in part less pronounced differences for the indicators of self-assessed health than the European average., Conclusions: Further analysis of the differences for the indicators considered between Germany and the European average and the possible underlying factors, such as differences in prevention, diagnosis, disease severity and care, is required. The educational inequalities observed across Europe suggest considerable potential for promoting health equity., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© Robert Koch Institute. All rights reserved unless explicitly granted.)

Background: Needs-based care is a central concern of healthcare policy. A European comparison of the utilisation of medical services can help to assess national data and identify the need for action., Methods: This article describes indicators on the utilisation of outpatient and inpatient services, medical examinations and the use of medicines from the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS 3) and compares the results from Germany with the European averages., Results: Age-standardised, the utilisation of medical services in Germany was above the European average without exception, whereby demographic and social differences were similar. Almost all services were utilised more frequently by women and in older age groups. Exceptions are inpatient services and colonoscopy, where there was no difference between the sexes, and more frequent use of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic services and non-prescription medication among younger adults. Specialist medical and dental services were used more frequently in the high education group, psychiatric and psychotherapeutic services as well as inpatient services and prescription medication in the low education group., Conclusions: The European comparison requires a differentiated categorisation of the findings. While the high utilisation in Germany for some evidence-based services (e.g. colonoscopy, dentistry) indicates good access to care, the high inpatient utilisation, for example, is also the subject of critical discussion., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© Robert Koch Institute. All rights reserved unless explicitly granted.)

Outpatient health care provision plays an important role in the identification and treatment of health problems. Data are needed on the utilisation of health care services and their determinants to enable health policy decision-making and needs-based care provision. The analyses set out in this article are based on current data on the utilisation of outpatient health care services. The data stem from the German Health Update (GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS), a nationwide cross-sectional survey of the resident population in Germany that is undertaken as part of the health monitoring conducted at the Robert Koch Institute. Around 80% of the population aged 18 or over were treated at least once within twelve months by a general practitioner, 60% by a specialist, and 10% received psychiatric or psychotherapeutic treatment. Less than half of those eligible had had a stool test during the past two years, and just over half had had a colonoscopy in the past ten years. Around 80% of women and 70% of men had had their blood pressure checked within the last year, and 60% had had their blood cholesterol or blood sugar levels monitored. Over 50% reported that they had taken medically prescribed drugs in the past two weeks. In general, most of the indicators under study suggest that utilisation increases with age and that utilisation is higher among women than men, with the exception of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic services, among others., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declared no conflicts of interest., (© Robert Koch Institute. All rights reserved unless explicitly granted.)

Since the beginning of the year 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has spread globally at a tremendous pace. Studies on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the population help estimate the number of people that have already been infected. They also allow an estimate of the number of undetected infections i.e. infections that do not appear in data on officially reported cases. The interpretation of study results needs to consider bias from selective sampling and the diagnostic test properties. To promote networking and co-operation between scientists, the Robert Koch Institute has compiled an overview of the seroepidemiological studies conducted in Germany on its website, which is regularly updated. The RKI conducts searches, for example of press releases, study registry entries or preprint server publications, and contacts the lead investigators of these studies. Of the 40 studies contacted so far, 24 have already provided information (as of 25.06.2020). We can differentiate between studies of the general population, of selected population groups such as healthcare workers, or of ongoing cohorts. This article provides an overview of such studies from Germany, but also of selected international studies. A special focus is set on studies of children and adolescents, which are now of particular interest due to the planned reopening of childcare facilities and schools., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declared no conflicts of interest., (© Robert Koch Institute. All rights reserved unless explicitly granted.)

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declared no conflicts of interest.