Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) has undergone a significant shift in prevalence in India, as per a recent study published in the Lancet journal. The study discovered that IBD is now as prevalent in rural areas just as it is in urban areas, contrasting with the situation two decades ago when it was more widespread in the west.
The research conducted by AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, examined 32,021 patients between March 2020 and May 2022, with 30,835 patients providing complete data. The study covered more than 150 villages across Telangana touching across 1.75 lakh people. The study points to urbanisation of rural areas as a leading cause of this shift. With changing environments and dietary habits, the availability of processed food has increased, contributing to the rise in IBD cases. Out of the total patients assessed, 6,362 were from rural settings, while 24,473 were from urban areas. During the 26-month assessment, 1,680 people were identified as suffering from IBD, with 992 of them having Crohn’s Disease (CD) and 688 having Ulcerative Colitis (UC).
For patients with CD, the most common symptoms were abdominal pain (70%), chronic diarrhoea (30%), changes in bowel habits (33%), rectal bleeding (19%), and anaemia (9%). Meanwhile, patients with UC predominantly experienced bloody diarrhea (96%), followed by abdominal pain (56%), and unintentional weight loss (18%).
