Clinical epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease in Lebanon.
BACKGROUND
The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in a representative Lebanese cohort and to describe practice prevalence trends, disease characteristics, and impact on quality of life (QoL) of IBD patients in Lebanon.


METHODS
All of a university-based health program's 2000-2004 computerized records that listed a diagnosis of Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) were reviewed. In addition, data on patients seen in the gastroenterology clinics and data from the IBD registry at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) from the same period were analyzed.


RESULTS
Of 15,073 insured individuals, 8 had a diagnosis of CD and 16 of UC, giving an age-adjusted prevalence of 53.1 per 100,000 people for CD and 106.2 per 100,000 people for UC. The mean age at diagnosis for patients with CD and UC was 28.8 +/- 11.1 and 32.0 +/- 13.4 years, respectively, and there was a slight female predominance. The mean annual incidence was 4.1 per 100,000 people for UC and 1.4 per 100,000 people for CD (range, 0-6.9/100,000 for both). Of the 10,383 patients seen in the gastroenterology clinic from 2000 to 2004, 251 (2.4%) had IBD (142 UC, 100 CD, and 9 indeterminate), a ratio that trended upward over time (range, 1.8%-2.7%). The median IBD Quality-of-Life (IBDQ) questionnaire score was 124.9 +/- 30.5, indicating that the disease had a moderately severe impact on QoL.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of IBD in this representative Lebanese cohort falls in the intermediate range of that reported for white populations in Europe and North America. Future studies are needed to examine local risk factors, disease genotypes and phenotypes, and epidemiologic time trends. The psychosocial burden of IBD in Lebanon appears significant.
Abdul-Baki
Heitham
H
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
ElHajj
Ihab
I
El-Zahabi
Lara M N
LM
Azar
Cecilio
C
Aoun
Elie
E
Zantout
Hala
H
Nasreddine
Walid
W
Ayyach
Bassem
B
Mourad
Fadi H
FH
Soweid
Assaad
A
Barada
Kassem A
KA
Sharara
Ala I
AI
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D018912:Arabs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005762:Gastroenterology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data