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Published on: February 2, 2017
Obesity Is More Common in Children Newly Diagnosed With Ulcerative Colitis as Compared to Those With Crohn Disease
Abin Chandrakumar1, Angus Wang, Kanika Grover
1Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatric and Child Health, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Insights
Obesity is more common in pediatric ulcerative colitis (UC) patients at diagnosis. However, weight at diagnosis did not significantly impact relapse rates in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients with Crohn disease (CD) or UC.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Research
- Obesity and Chronic Disease Epidemiology
Background:
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) affects children and young adults, with varying prevalence of obesity and underweight at diagnosis.
- Understanding the relationship between weight status and disease outcomes in pediatric IBD is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of obesity in a pediatric population-based cohort newly diagnosed with IBD.
- To compare outcomes, specifically time to first relapse, between obese/overweight and normal/underweight pediatric IBD patients.
Main Methods:
- Prospective observational study of children (<17 years) diagnosed with IBD in Manitoba, Canada (2012-2018).
- Cox regression analysis was employed to assess the time to first relapse based on weight category at diagnosis (obese/overweight vs. normal/underweight).
Main Results:
- Obesity was significantly more prevalent in children newly diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) compared to Crohn disease (CD) (12.7% vs. 0.0%, P=0.005).
- Underweight status was more common in CD (20.0%) than UC (6.3%) at diagnosis (P=0.01).
- No significant association was found between weight category at diagnosis and the time to first relapse for either UC or CD.
Conclusions:
- Obesity is more common at diagnosis in pediatric UC patients.
- Underweight children diagnosed with IBD are more likely to have CD.
- Weight status at diagnosis does not appear to significantly influence the risk of initial relapse in pediatric IBD.
Objective:
This prospective observational study aimed to examine the prevalence of obesity in a population-based cohort of children and young adults newly diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and assess their outcome in comparison to newly diagnosed normal/underweight patients.
Methods:
Our longitudinal population-based cohort comprised all children younger than 17 years diagnosed with IBD in the province of Manitoba, Canada between 2012 and 2018. Cox regression model with adjustment for a priori covariates was used to examine the time to first relapse among patients who were obese/overweight at the time of IBD diagnosis in comparison to patients who were normal or underweight.
Results:
A total of 139 patients with IBD were followed up for a median duration of 1.09 (interquartile range: 0.53-2.62) years. Obesity was more common in children newly diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) compared to those with Crohn disease (CD) (12.7% vs 0.0%; P = 0.005). Age at diagnosis poorly correlated with the body mass index z score (R = 0.23; P = 0.01). The proportions of patients who were underweight at the time of IBD diagnosis among patients with UC and CD were 6.3% and 20.0%, respectively (P = 0.01). The time to initial relapse was not found to be significantly associated with weight category at diagnosis in UC (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.77; 95% confidence interval: 0.40-1.63) or CD (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.83; 95% confidence interval: 0.20-3.51).
Conclusion:
Obesity was more common in children and young adults newly diagnosed with UC. The majority of the underweight children had CD.
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