Characteristics and Trends in the Incidence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Korean Children: A Single-Center Experience

Abstract

Background Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rare in Asian children and few reports on pediatric IBD have appeared. Aims We, therefore, investigated the incidence trends and clinical characteristics of pediatric IBD in Korea. Methods We enrolled 48 children with Crohn's disease (CD) and 14 children with ulcerative colitis (UC) from 1996 to 2007. Trends in annual enrollment and clinical characteristics were retrospectively evaluated by medical record review. Results During the 12 years of observation, the number of new enrollments gradually increased. CD showed male predominance (33 boys, 15 girls), but more females presented with UC (4 boys, 10 girls). A relevant family history was observed in 3 (4.9%) of the 61 unrelated families. The most common presenting symptom was abdominal pain (67%) in CD and hematochezia (93%) in UC. Growth delay was observed in 10% of CD patients, but not in any of the UC patients. In CD, colonic involvement occurred in 87% of patients, ileal involvement in 87%, and both the small bowel and colon were affected in 75%. With UC, pancolitis occurred in 43% of patients, left-sided colitis in 36%, and proctitis in 21%, including all three patients with appendiceal orifice inflammation. The most frequent disease behavior was inflammatory in 85% of patients, but perianal fistula was noted in 50% of CD patients. Conclusion This study showed that the incidence of pediatric IBD has been rapidly increasing in Korea in recent years. Relevant family history is less prevalent and phenotypic expression differs from what is seen in Western countries.

Inflammatory bowel disease in Turkish children

“…The extra-intestinal manifestations were less in our patients than in American children, but similar to those in Korean childen. [5,9] IBD was associated with other diseases in 13.3% of our patients. The association of FMF with IBD was reported previously.…”

“…[4,5,[7][8][9][10] Most studies [4,5,[7][8][9][10] revealed that the incidence of IBD is increasing in childhood and the increment is more prominent in CD. The studies also found obesity related IBD, secondary IBD due to immune deficiencies or autoimmune diseases, and a high rate of colectomy in patients with UC.…”

Clinical Features and Extraintestinal Manifestations of Crohn Disease in Children

“…Although about 25% of Crohn patients are diagnosed as children and adolescents, and their clinical features differ from those of adults [7], only a few Korean studies involving a small number of patients have been published to date [8910]. Data on the differences between the EIMs of IBD in children and adults are also lacking.…”

Nutritional Status and Growth in Korean Children with Crohn’s Disease: A Single-Center Study

“…However, the latest studies have reported a gradually increasing incidence of CD in Asian populations 1,2. The incidence of CD in Korean adults has been increasing,3 and it has been suggested that the incidence in children is also increasing 4…”