KASID
Search
- Page Path
- HOME > Search
Original Article
- Rapid diagnosis and therapeutic mitigation in inflammatory bowel disease: utilizing the window of opportunity–findings from the UAE Epi-IBD study
- Thaer Khaleel Swaid, Layth Raafat Hamzeh, Laurette L. Bukasa, Tine Jess, Mohammed Nabil Quraishi
- Received January 25, 2026 Accepted April 12, 2026 Published online June 1, 2026
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5217/ir.2026.00032 [Epub ahead of print]
-
Abstract
PDF
Supplementary Material
PubReader
ePub - Background/Aims
To determine time to diagnosis (TTD) and its impact on surgery and advanced therapy (AT) burden in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in a multi-ethnic United Arab Emirates (UAE) cohort, a region in the acceleration phase of IBD incidence.
Methods
Retrospective analysis of the UAE Epi-IBD registry. TTD was calculated from patient-reported symptom onset to diagnosis. Logistic, Poisson regression and Cox proportional hazards models were used. Sensitivity analyses using 6- and 18-month thresholds and TTD quartiles were performed.
Results
Among 243 patients (148 Crohn’s disease [CD], 95 ulcerative colitis [UC]), median TTD was 4.0 months (interquartile range [IQR], 1.5–9.0 months) for CD and 3.0 months (IQR, 1.0–7.0 months) for UC (P= 0.111, Wilcoxon; log-rank P= 0.054), shorter than pooled estimates from high-income countries. UC TTD accelerated significantly post-2021 (2.0 months vs. 5.5 months; P= 0.006), while CD remained stable (P= 0.646). Diagnostic speed was identical between tertiary and non-tertiary settings (P= 0.943). Diagnostic delay did not predict AT exposure (P= 0.986) or surgical risk (P= 0.586); instead, penetrating CD phenotype drove therapy burden (P= 0.019). Time to first AT was rapid (median 4.5 months for CD, 14.0 months for UC). Era-stratified analysis showed a trend toward higher AT use in 2021 to 2025 (incidence rate ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 0.98–1.89; P= 0.071), consistent with expanding therapeutic availability, though null association between delay and outcomes persisted after adjustment.
Conclusions
TTD in this cohort is shorter than global benchmarks and comparable to recent Asian data. Diagnostic delay did not predict adverse outcomes, though limited surgical events and short follow-up preclude definitive conclusions. Multiple factors beyond healthcare system architecture may contribute, and larger multicenter studies are needed.
- 1,140 View
- 23 Download
First
Prev
