Clinicoepidemiological characteristics of adult in 5patients with inflammatory bowel disease diagnosed Greek teaching hospitals during the year 2003

Abstract

Background: During the last two decades the incidence and
prevalence of Ulcerative Colitis (UC) in some European
countries reached a plateau, a fact that is in sharp contrast
to Crohns disease (CD) which has shown up to a sixfold
increase in incidence rates over the same period. New
cases of CD now account for at least equal number of cases
with UC. Aim: To present the results of the analysis of some
clinicoepidemiological parameters of patients with IBD
diagnosed during the year 2003 in 5 teaching hospitals situated
in the great area of Athens and North Greece. Results:
Seventy-seven new cases with IBD were diagnosed (40
patients with CD, 36 with UC and 1 with indeterminate colitis).
Extensive/total colitis was observed in 21 out of 37 patients
with UC (57%). One or more extraintestinal manifestations
were observed in 11(29.7%) patients with UC and
11(27.5%) patients with CD. Duration of symptoms of less
than one month was observed in 18 patients with UC (49%)
and 9(22.5%) patients with CD. Partial or complete response
to treatment was observed in 97% and 90% of patients with
UC and CD respectively. Significant differences between
patients with CD and UC were observed only in the age at
onset of the disease (P<0.05). There was a tendency for
significant differences between the two groups concerning
duration of symptoms but differences did not reach
statistical significance (P=0.078). No significant differences
were observed in all other parameters examined including
sex, family history of IBD, number and type of extraintestinal
manifestations, smoking habits, and outcome of first
attack. No significant differences were observed between
men and women in all parameters examined except smoking
habit. Indeed, significant differences in smoking habit
were observed between men and women with UC (P<0.0001),
while in patients with CD differences did not reach
statistical significance (p=0.078). Conclusion: The number
of new cases of CD referred to gastroenterology departments
of teaching hospitals in Greece tend now to exceed the
number of new cases with UC. The proportion of new cases
with extensive UC is higher compared to the proportion of
new cases with left colitis. No differences in the smoking
habits between patients with UC and CD were found. The
proportion of positive family history for IBD at the onset of
the disease in either group of patients was low. Other
clinical parameters did not show any significant differences
compared to data described in previous studies originating
from Greece.
Key words: Ulcerative colitis, Crohns disease, Inflammatory
bowel disease, Epidemiology, Clinical characteristics