Awareness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Bahrain: A Survey-Based Study

Limited awareness of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can lead to diagnostic delays and increased risk of complications. Although awareness levels may vary across demographic and educational groups, there is a notable paucity of research investigating IBD awareness in Bahrain. To address this gap, the present study aims to evaluate the awareness levels of IBD among the Bahraini population.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted at 10 primary healthcare centers in Bahrain using a multistage sampling technique. Adult individuals without a prior history of IBD were invited to complete validated questionnaires. Each correct response received a score of one, with a maximum score of three.

A total of 516 individuals completed the questionnaire. Two hundred seventy-six (53.5%) participants had never heard of Crohn's disease (CD), and only 130 (25.2%) correctly identified the organs affected. On the other hand, 184 (35.7%) had never heard of ulcerative colitis (UC), whereas only 199 (38.6%) correctly identified the organ involved. The overall combined knowledge score for CD and UC was 1.65 ± 1.78 (mean ± SD), with slightly better results for UC (1.00 ± 1.12) than CD (0.65 ± 0.97). Higher education, healthcare occupation, and family history of IBD were significantly associated with greater IBD knowledge (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P < 0.003, respectively).

Findings reveal a significantly low level of IBD awareness among the public in Bahrain. This underscores the need for initiatives aimed at enhancing public knowledge of IBD, which could improve early diagnosis and treatment outcomes for affected individuals.