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The emerging global epidemic of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease--causes and consequences
1Department of Women's and Children's Health, Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Childhood inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) incidence is rising globally. Research explores environmental factors, treatment differences, and the disease
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research
Background:
- Childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) incidence has dramatically increased globally.
- This rise has made pediatric IBD a priority, prompting investigation into early life exposure factors.
- The pediatric IBD phenotype may present with more extensive and severe disease compared to adult-onset IBD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze recent global incidence trends of pediatric IBD.
- To update knowledge on risk factors contributing to the pediatric IBD epidemic.
- To highlight differences in treatment and outcomes between pediatric and adult IBD.
Main Methods:
- Review of global incidence trends in pediatric IBD.
- Analysis of current research on risk factors for childhood IBD.
- Comparison of treatment strategies and outcomes in pediatric versus adult IBD.
Main Results:
- Global incidence rates of pediatric IBD are increasing significantly.
- Emerging research suggests environmental and early life exposures as potential risk factors.
- Treatment for pediatric IBD focuses on symptom control, growth, and pubertal development, with ongoing debate about disease aggressiveness.
Conclusions:
- The rising incidence of pediatric IBD necessitates further research into causative factors and optimal management.
- Understanding the unique characteristics of childhood-onset IBD is crucial for effective treatment and improved patient outcomes.
- Continued investigation is needed to clarify the long-term trajectory and severity of pediatric IBD.
Abstract:
Two decades ago, paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) drew only modest interest from the international paediatric community. Since then, dramatically globally increasing incidence rates have made childhood-onset IBD a priority for most paediatric gastroenterologists. The emerging pandemia of paediatric IBD has fuelled a quest to identify the recent changes in early life exposures that could explain the increasing risk for IBD amongst today's children. Treatment of children with IBD should aim for symptom control but should also target restoration of growth and prevention of pubertal delay. The paediatric IBD phenotype seems to be characterized by more extensive disease location, and some comparative studies have suggested that childhood-onset IBD also represents a more severe phenotype than the adult-onset IBD form. In this review, we analyse recent global incidence trends of paediatric IBD. We present an update on the known and suggested risk factors that could explain the emerging global epidemia of paediatric IBD. We also draw attention to differences in treatment between children and adults with IBD. Finally, we highlight latest follow-up studies that question the proposed dynamic and aggressive nature of childhood-onset IBD.
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