Black and White Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease Show Similar Biologic Use Patterns With Medicaid Insurance

Prior studies have identified racial disparities in the treatment and outcomes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These disparities could be secondary to differences in biology, care delivery, or access to appropriate therapy. The primary aim of this study was to compare medication use among Medicaid-insured black and white patients with IBD, given uniform access to gastroenterologists and therapies.

We analyzed Medicaid Analytic eXtract data from 4 states (California, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas) between 2006 and 2011. We compared the use of IBD-specific therapies, including analyses of postoperative therapy among patients with Crohn disease (CD). We performed bivariate analyses and multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders.

We identified 14,735 patients with IBD (4672 black [32%], 8277 with CD [58%]). In multivariable analysis, there was no significant difference in the odds of anti-tumor necrosis factor use by race for CD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99-1.28] or ulcerative colitis (aOR = 1.12; 95% CI, 0.96-1.32). Black patients with CD were more likely than white patients to receive combination therapy (aOR = 1.50; 95% CI, 1.15-1.96), and black patients were more likely than white patients to receive immunomodulator monotherapy after surgery for CD (31% vs 18%; P = 0.004).

In patients with Medicaid insurance, where access to IBD-specific therapy should be similar for all individuals, there was no significant disparity by race in the utilization of IBD-specific therapies. Disparities in IBD treatment discussed in prior literature seem to be driven by socioeconomic or other issues affecting access to care.