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. 2019 Jan;17(1):54-62.
doi: 10.5217/ir.2018.00096. Epub 2018 Nov 20.

Epidemiological trend in inflammatory bowel disease in Taiwan from 2001 to 2015: a nationwide populationbased study

Hsu-Heng Yen  1   2 , Meng-Tzu Weng  3 , Chien-Chih Tung  4 , Yu-Ting Wang  5 , Yuan Ting Chang  6 , Chin-Hao Chang  5   6 , Ming-Jium Shieh  7 , Jau-Min Wong  8 , Shu-Chen Wei  1   9
Affiliations

Epidemiological trend in inflammatory bowel disease in Taiwan from 2001 to 2015: a nationwide populationbased study

Hsu-Heng Yen et al. Intest Res. 2019 Jan.

Abstract

Background/aims: Incidences of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), ulcerative colitis (UC), and Crohn's disease (CD), have been increasing in Asia. In this study, we report the relevant clinical characteristics and determined the epidemiological trend of IBD in Taiwan from 2001 to 2015.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to analyze data recorded from January 2001 through December 2015 in the registered database compiled by the National Health Insurance and provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan.

Results: A total of 3,806 patients with catastrophic IBD illness were registered from 2001 to 2015 in Taiwan (CD, 919; UC, 2,887). The crude incidence of CD increased from 0.17/100,000 in 2001 to 0.47/100,000 in 2015, whereas that of UC increased from 0.54/100,000 in 2001 to 0.95/100,000 in 2015. The prevalence of CD increased from 0.6/100,000 in 2001 to 3.9/100,000 in 2015, whereas that of UC increased from 2.1/100,000 in 2001 to 12.8/100,000 in 2015. The male-to-female ratio in the study sample was 2.19 for CD and 1.62 for UC. The median age of those registered with CD was lower than that of those registered for UC: 38.86 and 44.86 years, respectively. A significantly greater increase in CD incidence rate was identified among 20 to 39-year-old compared with other age groups.

Conclusions: Using Taiwan's nationwide insurance database, we determined that the number of patients with CD increased more rapidly during the study period than the number of patients with UC, especially among age 20 to 39-year-old, resulting in a decreased UC-to-CD ratio.

Keywords: Colitis, ulcerative; Crohn disease; Incidence; Prevalence; Taiwan.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Incidence of IBD from 2001 to 2015 in Taiwan.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Prevalence of IBD from 2001 to 2015 in Taiwan.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Incidence rate ratio of UC to CD over time. Comparisons between stages 3 and 1 and stages 3 and 2 revealed significant differences. No significant difference was observed between stages 1 and 2. aComparison the UC/CD ratio between stages 1, 2, and 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Incidence of CD from 2001 to 2015 stratified by patient age.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Sex ratio (male to female) of patients with IBD in Taiwan from 2001 to 2015.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.
Age distribution of patients with CD and UC from 2001 to 2015 in Taiwan.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 7.
Temporal trends in the UC-to-CD ratio from populationbased studies in Western and Asian countries. Data Sources: Hong Kong (1981–2014) [12], Canada (1996–2009) [22], Korea (2006–2012) [19], Korea (1986–2005) [13], Denmark (1980–2013) [23], Quebec (2001–2008) [24], the Faroe Islands (1960–2014) [9], Taiwan (2001–2015): present study.
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