On the occasion of World IBD Day, Why Doctor explains to you which diseases encompass this medical term.
- IBD are diseases for which there is no cure.
- They evolve by periods of flare interspersed with periods of remission.
- Periods of remission can extend over several years if the disease is properly controlled by treatments.
IBD is called chronic inflammatory bowel disease. There are two: Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (RH).
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
Crohn’s disease causes inflammation and irritation that can affect the entire intestine, from the mouth to the anus. Most often, it affects the terminal part of the small intestine (“the small intestine”), the large intestine (“the colon”) and the anus. In ulcerative colitis, the inflammation and irritation always affects the lower part of the rectum and goes up more or less into the colon. The intestine is never affected.
IBD is most often diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 30. However, they can occur at any age and 15% of cases concern children. “Their frequency varies considerably from one country to another, the most important incidences being found in industrialized countries, in particular in North-Western Europe and in the United States. In general, the incidence increases with the level of socio-economic development of the countries, so that it strongly increases in Asia, the Middle East, South Africa or even India. specifies Inserm.
212,700 people treated for IBD
In 2015, France had 212,700 people treated for IBD (60% CD and 40% HR), 55% of whom were women. According to the Epimad registry, which tracks the incidence of these diseases in several northern departments, the incidence of Crohn’s disease increased from 5.3 to 7.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants between 1988 and 2014, while that of ulcerative colitis remained stable, at 4.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Over this same period, the disease affected younger and younger subjects, with a significant increase in incidence among adolescents (+126% for CD and +156% for HR).
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