Could the geographic area influence the demographic profile of IBD patients in India?

Published online April 29, 2021.

Colitis and Crohn’s Foundation (India): a first nationwide inflammatory bowel disease registry

Ajit Sood, Kirandeep Kaur, Ramit Mahajan, et al. Intest Res. 2021;19(2):206-216

In India, the incidence of UC (6.02/100,000) is much higher than that of other Asian countries, and an increasing incidence of CD has been reported in this country. National population-based registries are necessary to analyze the external validity of randomized controlled trials, natural disease course, response to treatment and survival rates of a specific disease. To this aim, a multicenter, cross-sectional, prospective registry was established across the four geographical zones of India. Based on the registry, this study analyzed the demographics, disease features, complications, and treatment history of IBD in India.

A total of 3,863 patients (mean age, 36.7 ± 13.6 years; 3,232 UC [83.7%] and 631 CD [16.3%]) were enrolled. The UC:CD ratio was 5.1:1 and showed a male predominance (male:female = 1.6:1).
The results of national IBD registry show significant differences in the demographic profile of the patient cohorts from the 4 geographical regions of India.

1) The majority of patients with UC (n = 1,870, 57.9%) were from north whereas CD was more common in south (n = 348, 55.5%). The UC:CD ratio was 8 times higher in north (11.4:1) than south (1.4:1).

2) Regarding disease severity of UC, nearly three-fourths of the patients in the northern cohort had moderately severe disease (n =1,394,74.5%), while a similar proportion in eastern cohort had mild disease (n=198, 76.2%).

3) There was a significant regional variation in the disease location of CD (P<0.001). The most common locations were L1 (46.3%); L2 (59.7%), and L3 (49.1%) in the northern, western and southern cohorts, respectively.

4) Nearly all patients (99.0%) received aminosalicylates. Biologics were used in only 1.5% of patients; more commonly for UC in north and CD in south.

Read more about the demographics, clinical presentation, and prescribing patterns for management of UC and CD in 4 geographical zones of India.

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