Epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease among children in Poland. A prospective, population-based, 2-year study, 2002-2004.
OBJECTIVE
The incidence of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Western countries is on the rise. No prospective studies have been conducted on the epidemiology of pediatric IBD in Poland. The aim of the study was to define the characteristics of new pediatric IBD and assess the incidence of new IBD among children in Poland between 2002 and 2004.


METHODS
Patient records from 24 pediatric gastroenterology centers servicing the whole population of Poland were collected. IBD diagnosis was based on clinical, radiological, endoscopic and histological features.


RESULTS
There were 491 new IBD patients, representing an overall incidence of IBD of 2.7 cases/100,000 children/year. The incidence of Crohn's disease (CD) was 0.6, ulcerative colitis (UC) 1.3, and indeterminate colitis (IC) 0.8. The age-related incidence of IBD was 1.8 in the 0- to 10-year-old age group, rising to 3.7 for the 11- to 18-year age group.


CONCLUSIONS
The overall incidence of IBD (as well as CD, UC and IC) in Poland is lower than that in Western countries. The relative contribution of UC and IC to the overall IBD incidence is higher in Poland than in most Western countries. These findings may suggest a tendency towards under- or misdiagnosis.
Karolewska-Bochenek
Katarzyna
K
Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Medical University of Warsaw, Ul. Dzialdowska 1, PL-01-184 Warsaw, Poland. kasiabochenek@hotmail.com
Lazowska-Przeorek
Izabella
I
Albrecht
Piotr
P
Grzybowska
Krystyna
K
Ryzko
Jozef
J
Szamotulska
Katarzyna
K
Radzikowski
Andrzej
A
Landowski
Piotr
P
Krzesiek
Elzbieta
E
Ignys
Iwona
I
Fyderek
Krzysztof
K
Czerwionka-Szaflarska
Mieczyslawa
M
Jarocka-Cyrta
Elzbieta
E