Racial differences in disease activity and quality of life in patients with Crohn's disease.
BACKGROUND
The existing literature on racial differences in Crohn's disease (CD) activity and quality of life (QOL) is limited and extrapolated from surrogate measures.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study was to compare objective markers of disease activity and QOL over time by race.


METHODS
A clinical data repository of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients at University of Maryland, Baltimore IBD Program, was used. CD patients from 2004 to 2009 were included if they had greater than or equal to two clinic visits with disease activity and QOL scores during the study period. Differences in disease activity and QOL were compared by race over time.


RESULTS
A total of 296 patients with CD met inclusion criteria; of these, 19% (56/296) were African Americans (AA) and 81% (240/296) were Caucasian. Baseline disease activity and QOL scores did not differ by race (p > 0.05). Caucasians had a steady decline in disease activity and increase in QOL. AA experienced a similar pattern of change in disease activity and QOL scores over time; however, the declines were not statistically significant between groups. At each time point post-baseline, disease activity and QOL scores were similar between races.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that Caucasian and AA patients with CD had similar disease activity and QOL scores at initial presentation and over time. Thus, AA do not represent a more severe subgroup of CD patients to treat. These findings have important implications for clinicians that care for patients with CD.
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 100 North Greene Street, Lower Level, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA, Lghazi@medicine.umaryland.edu.
Leyla J
LJ
Ghazi
Alison D
AD
Lydecker
Seema A
SA
Patil
Ankur
A
Rustgi
Raymond K
RK
Cross
Mark H
MH
Flasar
D001741:Black or African American; D000818:Animals; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D044465:White People