Prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in the Chelyabinsk Region

Abstract

Background: Epidemiological data on the prevalence of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) in Russia are limited.Aim: To evaluate the proportions and clinical particulars of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in patients living in the Chelyabinsk Region.Materials and methods: We performed a  retrospective analysis of a  database of IBD patients residing in the city of Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk Region for the period from 2016 to 2019.Results: The database includes 693 patients, among them 582 (84%) with UC and 111 (16%) with CD. With UC, the ratio of women (313 people) to men (269 people) was 1.16:1, while with CD (70 women and 41 men) it was 1.7:1. The mean age of UC patients was 46.3±15.8 years, of those with CD 45.79±18.1 years. 631 (90%) IBD patients live in the city, the number of rural residents was significantly lower (62, or 10%) (p<0.001). Disability caused by the underlying disease was 11.9% of the patients with UC and 23.4% of the CD patients. The mean age of the disease manifestation was 39.3±15.03 years (UC) and 38.7±17.8 years (CD). The time to diagnosis of UC was 6.1±4.0 months and of CD 7.6±5.5 months (р=0.045). Proctitis was diagnosed in 56 patients with UC (9.6%), left-sided colitis in 301 (51.7%), and total colitis in 225 (38.7%). Terminal ileitis was detected in 34 (30.6%) CD patients, colitis in 25 (22.6%), mixed colon and small intestine involvement in 52 (46.8%), and combined involvement of the upper gastrointestinal tract in 3 (3%) patients. The course of UC was acute in 25 (4.3%) patients, chronic continuous in 52 (8.9%), and chronic recurrent in 505 (86.8%). Extraintestinal manifestations were observed in 135 (19.5%) patients with IBD. Genetically engineered biological therapy was prescribed to 77 (11%) patients.Conclusion: The epidemiological trends for IBD, which we have identified through the analysis of the database for the city of Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk Region, are consistent with the results of studies in other regions of the Russian Federation: IBD manifests in the middle age, the time to diagnosis of CD is longer for that of UC. Total colitis is most frequent in UC, whereas in CD mixed colon and small intestine involvement is most prevalent. Ninety percent (90%) of IBD patients at the time of the database entry had a mild or moderate exacerbation of their disease.