Digestive Diseases News
Spring/Summer 2007

Upcoming Meetings, Workshops, and Conferences

National Commission on Digestive Diseases

The third meeting of the National Commission on Digestive Diseases (NCDD) is scheduled for June 18 to 19 at the Sheraton Crystal City in Arlington, VA. Commission working groups that were assigned specific topics at a previous meeting will present their chapter reports, which will be incorporated into a final Commission report. Congress tasked the NCDD with developing a long-range research plan for digestive diseases. For more details about the meeting, visit the Commission website at www2.niddk.nih.gov/AboutNIDDK/CommitteesAndWorkingGroups/NCDD/CommissionMeetingInformation.htm.

NDDIC Information Available at National Exhibits

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) distributes materials and information from its clearinghouses at various conferences throughout the year. Look for the NIDDK, the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, or the Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign exhibit booth at the following upcoming conferences:

• American Academy of Nurse Practitioners National Conference from June 20 to 24 in Indianapolis. For more information, visit www.aanp.org/AANPCMS2/Conferences.

• American Academy of Family Physicians Scientific Assembly from October 3 to 7 in Chicago. For more information, visit www.aafp.org/online/en/home/cme/aafpcourses/conferences/assembly.html.

• American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting from October 12 to 17 in Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.acg.gi.org/physicians/education.asp#Annual.

NIDDK Meeting on Fecal and Urinary Incontinence

The National Institutes of Health will hold a “State of the Science” conference on fecal and urinary incontinence December 10 to 12 in Bethesda, MD.

The objective of a “State of the Science” conference is to review information and scientific issues to reach a consensus that will be useful to health care providers and the public. A panel of 14 to 16 broad-based experts hears testimony from issue experts, evaluates the information, and develops responses to a series of predetermined questions. A report from a Technical Assessment Group provides an evidenced-based review of the literature to supplement the process.

Bothersome urinary incontinence affects 14 percent of women of all ages and fecal incontinence affects 2 to 15 percent of all adults. Some of the causes of fecal and urinary incontinence may result from various gastrointestinal disorders and complications of these disorders. These two conditions frequently coexist, especially in older adults and nursing home residents. The estimated economic impact of incontinence is more than $26 billion annually. Additional information about the conference will be available soon.

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NIH Publication No. 07–4552
May 2007