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Introduction: The Danish National Cohort Study (DANCOS) is a nationally representative public health survey based on linkage of information in the repeated Danish Health Interview surveys, 1986-2005, to the national Danish registers on health and welfare. It facilitates studies of self-reported health behaviour and utilisation of healthcare services by subgroups and analysis of non-response bias., Research Topics: DANCOS data are utilised in a variety of analyses presented here by a few examples that emphasise the impact of modifiable risk factors on public health, description of non-response bias, and the epidemiology of chronic pain and of osteoarthritis. Examples of DANCOS-based results are shown for each of the four topics. Smoking results in 24% of all deaths and, compared to other risk factors for public health, smoking accounts for the highest number of years of life lost. For non-response the mortality is higher among non-respondents than among respondents, but no significant bias on healthcare estimates can be seen. On average individuals with chronic pain had 12.8 contacts per year to the primary healthcare sector compared with 7.3 for individuals without. For osteoarthritis it is estimated that in 2020 there will be 22,600 incident cases., Conclusion: DANCOS is a public health survey linked with registers with many research possibilities. With this article we hope to stimulate further interest in the survey.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2004.11.005 Byline: Karin Helweg-Larsen (a), Helmer BA[cedilla]ving Larsen (b) Keywords: Child sexual abuse; Information system; Prevalence; Register data; Police reports; Denmark Abstract: To describe different data sources that may illuminate the incidence and character of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Denmark in the late 1990s. Author Affiliation: (a) National Institute of Public Health, Oster Farimagsgade 5A, DK 1399 Copenhagen, Denmark (b) Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Njalsgade 88, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark Article History: Received 21 June 2002; Revised 8 November 2004; Accepted 15 November 2004 Article Note: (footnote) [star] This research was supported by the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs.

Aims: The aim of this study was twofold. Firstly we identified victims of violence in national registers and discussed strengths and weaknesses of this approach. Secondly we assessed the magnitude of violence and the characteristics of the victims using register-based data. Methods: We used three nationwide registers to identify victims of violence: The National Patient Register, the Victim Statistics, and the Causes of Death Register. We merged these data and assessed the degree of overlap between data sources. We identified a reference population by selecting all individuals in Denmark over 15 years of age that had not been exposed to violence. For the study population and the reference population, socioeconomic and demographic information were retrieved from Statistics Denmark. We used logistic regression models in a cross-sectional analysis to identify characteristics of victims of violence. Results: In 2006, 22,000 individuals were registered as having been exposed to violence. About 70% of these victims were men. Most victims were identified from emergency room contacts and police records, and few from the Causes of Death Register. There was some overlap between the two large data sources. We found significant differences between victims and non-victims according to socio-economic status, education, marital status, and ethnic origin, and also between victims by source of identification. Conclusions: We have identified a study population consisting of individual victims of violence that opens for further studies on violence. The use of different data sources is a strength but also a potential weakness to epidemiological, health economic, and other analyses using these data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims : A study was undertaken on implementing medical data collection as a tool to assess the relative number and character of intentional injuries before and during an armed conflict. Methods : Data on hospital contacts due to intentional injury were collected retrospectively at two hospitals in West Bank, Palestine, and classified by ICD10 and the new International Classification of External Causes of Injuries (ICECI). A three-month period prior to the current Intifada, June-August 2000 and two three-month periods of the Intifada, September-December 2000 and June-August 2001 were chosen. Results : The number of contacts increased from 23 in the period prior to the Intifada to 740 during the first and 199 during the second period of the Intifada. During the period before the Intifada the victims were men, and no one was younger than 10 years. During the Intifada 9% were women, 3% below 10 years, and 9% aged 10-14 years. Prior to the Intifada all injuries were caused by blunt force. During the Intifada 65% of the injuries were caused by firearms or explosives, 19% by beating and 6% by gaseous substances. Among children most lesions were localized to the head, including eye and brain damage, and were mostly caused by firearms. Conclusions : Injury registration by ICD10 combined with ICECI codes facilitates analyses of correlations between characteristics of armed conflicts and injuries. Medical data collection is an important instrument in documentation of the effects of weapons and in surveillance of violations of humanitarian law, particularly as to the worrying magnitude of young children being seriously victimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]