title: Incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in the French West Indies (1997-1999).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in the French West Indies.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 1st 1997 to December 31st 1999 all patients observed with clinical symptoms suggestive of inflammatory bowel disease attending gastroenterologists practicing in Guadeloupe and Martinique were included. Patients were interviewed with a standard questionnaire to record data used by an expert to establish the final diagnosis of definite, probable or possible Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, unclassifiable chronic colitis or acute colitis, according to the EPIMAD registry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-six cases of ulcerative colitis (47.48%) including 12 cases of ulcerative proctitis (18.18% of the ulcerative colitis cohort), 55 of Crohn's disease (39.57%), 11 of unclassifiable chronic colitis (7.91%), and 7 of acute colitis (5.04%) were recorded. The crude annual incidence (per 100,000 inhabitants) based on definite and probable cases only was 2.44 for ulcerative colitis and 1.94 for Crohn's disease. The female/male ratio and median age at time of diagnosis were 1.61 and 29 years for Crohn's disease and 1.46 and 34 years for ulcerative colitis respectively. The median time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 2 months for both diseases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The observed incidence of inflammatory bowel disease In the French West-Indies is lower than in metropolitan France. These data will serve as a basis to assess disease evolution.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie, C.H.U de Fort-de-France, Martinique. hepato.gastro@chu-fortdefrance.fr
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Edouard
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paillaud
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merle
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Orhan
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chenayer-Panelatti Dagger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D019430:Guadeloupe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008395:Martinique / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires