title: Epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease in Asia.
abstract: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) once considered to be a disease only of the Western world is no longer so. Though good epidemiological studies are available from the West, still the information available from Asia is inadequate. This article is a review of the available epidemiological studies from Asia. The incidence / prevalence rates of IBD are still the highest in Europe and North America, though there is convincing evidence of rising trend of IBD in Asian countries; India probably heads the list. There is a need to study the role of various environmental and genetic factors in different countries in Asia. At present, ulcerative colitis predominates but Crohn's disease is expected to manifest more in coming years.
authors.affiliation: Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana 141 001, India. ajitsood10@sify.com
authors.forename: Ajit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sood
authors.forename: Vandana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Midha
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors