Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2013 Jan-Feb;19(1):16-22.
doi: 10.4103/1319-3767.105915.

Emerging inflammatory bowel disease in saudi outpatients: a report of 693 cases

Mohammad A Al-Mofarreh  1 , Ibrahim A Al-Mofleh
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Emerging inflammatory bowel disease in saudi outpatients: a report of 693 cases

Mohammad A Al-Mofarreh et al. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2013 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Background/aim: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease of unknown etiology and considered traditionally as a disease of the western world. Recently, rising trends have been observed in countries previously known to have a low prevalence and incidence. The aim of this study is to collect epidemiological data on IBD outpatients and to add data from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to the available IBD literature.

Patients and methods: The medical records of 693 Saudi patients with IBD over a period of 17 years, between 1993 and 2009, were reviewed. The demographic and clinical data and methods of diagnosis were retrieved.

Results: The total number of patients in this cohort was 693. It constituted 238 (34.3%) ulcerative colitis (UC) and 455 (65.7%) Crohn's disease (CD) patients. UC was steady throughout the years, whereas only 1.2 CD patients were diagnosed per year in the first 11 years, and 73.7 per year in the last six years. The median age of UC patients was 34 years, ranging from 10 to 80 years with a peak between 21 and 40 years and in CD it was 27 years, ranging from 11 to 73 years with a peak between 11 and 30 years. There was a male preponderance of 1.5:1 and 2:1, respectively. The rest of the data is discussed in this study.

Conclusion: IBD is no longer a rare disease in KSA. UC is in a steady state, whereas CD is increasing significantly and far outnumbering UC.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Total number of primarily diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease patients in the clinic (n=618)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total number of endoscopic procedures during 1993–2009
Figure 3
Figure 3
Age distribution of inflammatory bowel disease patients
Figure 4
Figure 4
Features of inflammatory bowel disease
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Fiocchi C. Inflammatory bowel disease: Etiology and pathogenesis. Gastroenterology. 1998;115:182–205. - PubMed
    1. Loftus EV, Sandborn WJ. Epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2002;1:1–20. - PubMed
    1. Gerland CF, Lilienfield AM, Mendeloff Al, Markowitz JA, Terrel KB, Gerland FC. Incidence rates of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in 15 areas of the United States. Gastroenterology. 1981;81:115–24. - PubMed
    1. Lashner BA. Epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 1995;24:467–74. - PubMed
    1. Loftus EV, Jr, Silverstein MD, Sandborn WJ, Termaine WJ, Harmsen WS, Zinsmeister AR. Crohn's disease in Olmsted Country, Minnesota 1940-1993: Incidence, prevalence and survival. Gastroenterology. 1998;114:1161–8. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources