title: Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort Studies in Korea: Present and Future.
abstract: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is defined as a chronic and relapsing inflammatory disorder of the intestine. Intestinal inflammation in IBD has been proposed to be attributable to the interplay between microbial, genetic, environmental, and immunological factors. The incidence and prevalence rates of IBD are rapidly increasing apparently in other parts of the world, with dramatic increases especially in East Asia. Generally, cohort studies are useful for estimating the incidence, prevalence, natural course, prognosis, and risk factors of diseases. In particular, cohort studies performed in Western countries have well described the prevalence, risk factors, and natural course of IBD and investigated its genetic pathophysiology. However, the outcomes of IBD cohort studies performed in Korea are not as persuasive as those of Western studies because of the relatively low prevalence of IBD and short follow-up periods of the cohorts in Korea. Despite this critical limitation, members of the Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases have demonstrated outstanding results. Some unique features of IBD patients in Korea are well demonstrated, such as thiopurine-induced leukopenia or risks of opportunistic tuberculosis infection in patients receiving tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors. In this review, the present authors summarized the key points of the results of the cohort studies performed in Korea and explored future perspectives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Pil
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Im
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cheon
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: You Sun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Joo Sung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Guri, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Soo
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Han
keywords: Cohort studies; Inflammatory bowel diseases; Korea