Aniwan, Satimai

Background: Obesity is on the rise within the inflammatory bowel disease population. The impact obesity has on the natural history of Crohn’s disease (CD) is not well-understood. We aimed to describe the prevalence of obesity in a population-based cohort of newly diagnosed patients with CD, and the impact obesity had on disease phenotype and outcomes of corticosteroid use, hospitalization, intestinal resection, and development of fistulizing or penetrating disease. Materials and Methods: A chart review was performed on Olmsted County, Minnesota residents diagnosed with CD between 1970 and 2010. Data were collected on demographics, body mass index, CD location and behavior, CD-related hospitalizations, corticosteroid use, and intestinal resection. The proportion of individuals considered obese at the time of CD diagnosis was evaluated over time, and CD-associated complications were assessed with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results: We identified 334 individuals diagnosed with CD between 1970 and 2010, of whom 156 (46.7%) were either overweight (27.8%) or obese (18.9%) at the time of diagnosis. The proportion of patients considered obese at the time of their diagnosis of CD increased 2-3 fold over the course of the study period. However, obesity did not have a significant impact on the future risk of corticosteroid use, hospitalization, intestinal resection, or development of penetrating and stricturing complications. Conclusions: Obesity is on the rise in patients with CD, although in this cohort, there did not appear to be any negative association with future CD-related outcomes. Further prospective studies, ideally including obesity measures such as visceral adipose tissue assessment, are warranted to understand the implications of the rising prevalence of obesity on CD outcomes.

Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which comprises Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is an idiopathic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. The incidence and prevalence of IBD are rapidly increasing worldwide, particularly in newly industrialized regions such as Asia. Although a large medical armamentarium is available for treating this chronic disease, IBD imposes a marked global disease burden. To understand the complex etiopathogenesis of this condition, it is important to consider the rapidly changing trends in its epidemiology in Asia. During the past few decades, the incidence and prevalence of IBD have significantly increased in both Asian countries and Asian immigrants in Western countries. In this review, we aimed to study and update the epidemiology of IBD in diverse Asian regions and among Asian immigrants in North America and Europe. Moreover, we highlighted that this population exhibits a unique disease phenotype, such as male predominance and high frequency of perianal fistula in Crohn's disease. Also, a different disease phenotype including more complicated disease such as perianal complications was noted in Asian Americans and Asian Europeans.

Abstract Background and Aims There remains a historical misconception that inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] patients are underweight. However, recent data suggest rates of obesity in IBD parallel to those of the general population. The impact obesity has on the natural history of IBD is unclear. We aimed to determine obesity rates at the time of IBD diagnosis in a population-based cohort of ulcerative colitis [UC] patients. Methods Chart review was performed on patients diagnosed with UC over 1970–2010. Data were collected on demographics, body mass index [BMI], disease characteristics, IBD-specific hospitalisations, intestinal resection, and corticosteroid use. The proportion of patients who were obese at the time of their diagnosis was evaluated over time, and survival free of IBD-related complications was assessed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results A total of 417 adults were diagnosed with UC over 1970–2010, 55.4% of whom were classified as either overweight [34.8%] or obese [20.6%]. The prevalence of obesity increased 2–3-fold over the 40-year study period. Obese patients had a 72% increased risk of hospitalisation (hazard ratio [HR],1.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10–2.71; p = 0.018) when compared with normal weight patients. Additionally, with each incremental increase in BMI by 1 kg/m2, the risk of hospitalisation increased by 5% [HR,1.05; 95% CI, 1.01–1.08; p = 0.008] and risk of corticosteroid use increased by 2.6% [HR,1.026; 95% CI, 1.00–1.05; p = 0.05]. Conclusions The prevalence of obesity in the UC population is increasing and may have negative prognostic implications, specifically regarding risk of future hospitalisation and corticosteroid use. Additional prospective studies are necessary to more clearly define these associations.

AbstractDistal biliary strictures (DBS) are common and may be caused by both malignant and benign pathologies. While endoscopic procedures play a major role in their management, a comprehensive review of the subject is still lacking. Our consensus statements were formulated by a group of expert Asian pancreatico‐biliary interventional endoscopists, following a proposal from the Digestive Endoscopy Society of Taiwan, the Thai Association for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and the Tokyo Conference of Asian Pancreato‐biliary Interventional Endoscopy. Based on a literature review utilizing Medline, Cochrane library, and Embase databases, a total of 19 consensus statements on DBS were made on diagnosis, endoscopic drainage, benign biliary stricture, malignant biliary stricture, and management of recurrent biliary obstruction and other complications. Our consensus statements provide comprehensive guidance for the endoscopic management of DBS.

Abstract Background and Aims We aimed to evaluate the relationship of serum adalimumab trough levels (ATL) with disease activity of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients in a large, well-characterized referral center-based cohort. Methods We compared serum ATL between those with clinical, biochemical, or endoscopic/radiologic disease activity and those without. Results A total of 236 patients with IBD were included. Higher cutoff levels were associated with endoscopic and/or radiologic responses (cutoff value: 5.3 mcg/mL, P = 0.003) compared with improvement in C-reactive protein (cutoff value: 4.3 mcg/mL, P = 0.031). Conclusions Higher cutoff ATL was associated with endoscopic and/or radiologic response.

Background and aims: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) will become increasingly important as primary endpoints in future clinical trials. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the combination of patient-reported clinical symptoms (ClinPRO2) and Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study of 90 consecutive UC patients who were scheduled for sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. All patients completed the following questionnaires: (1) self-rated rectal bleeding and stool frequency (ClinPRO2); (2) Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ); (3) European Quality of Life 5-Dimensions 3-Level (EQ5D3L); (4) Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire (WPAI); (5) Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F); and (6) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The endoscopic images were graded according to the MES. “No symptoms” was defined as a symptom score of 0, and “mucosal healing” was defined as MES score of 0–1. Correlations between the combined ClinPRO2 and MES with HRQoL were assessed using Spearman’s correlation coefficients. Results: The combination of the ClinPRO2 and MES was well correlated to SIBDQ (r = −0.70), EQ5D3L (r = −0.51), WPAI (r = 0.62), FACIT-F (r = −0.58), and HADS-depression (r = 0.45). SIBDQ scores had strong correlations with FACIT-F (r = 0.86), WPAI (r = −0.80), and HADS-depression (r = −0.75) (p < 0.05 for all correlations). Patients with no symptoms reported the greatest all HRQoL scores. Conclusions: In patients with ulcerative colitis, the combination of a ClinPRO2 and the MES had good correlation with the SIBDQ. In addition, SIBDQ was well correlated to the various HRQoL.

Abstract Background Vedolizumab effectiveness estimates immediately after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are limited by use in refractory populations. We aimed to compare treatment patterns and outcomes of vedolizumab in 2 time frames after FDA approval. Methods We used 2 data sets for time trend analysis, an academic multicenter vedolizumab consortium (VICTORY) and the Truven MarketScan database, and 2 time periods, May 2014–June 2015 (Era 1) and July 2015–June 2017 (Era 2). VICTORY cumulative 12-month clinical remission, corticosteroid-free remission, and mucosal healing rates, and Truven 12-month hospitalization and surgery rates, were compared between Eras 1 and 2 using time-to-event analyses. Results A total of 3661 vedolizumab-treated patients were included (n = 1087 VICTORY, n = 2574 Truven). In both cohorts, CD and UC patients treated during Era 2 were more likely to be biologic naïve. Compared with Era 1, Era 2 CD patients in the VICTORY consortium had higher rates of clinical remission (31% vs 40%, P = 0.03) and mucosal healing (42% vs 58%, P < 0.01). These trends were not observed for UC. In the Truven database, UC patients treated during Era 2 had lower rates of inflammatory bowel disease–related hospitalization (22.4% vs 9.6%, P < 0.001) and surgery (17.2% vs 9.4%, P = 0.008), which was not observed for CD. Conclusion Since FDA approval, remission and mucosal healing rates have increased for vedolizumab-treated CD patients, and vedolizumab-treated UC patients have had fewer hospitalizations and surgeries. This is likely due to differences between patient populations treated immediately after drug approval and those treated later.

Background: Although inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been more predominant in white populations, an increasing incidence of IBD in nonwhites has been reported. We sought to evaluate the incidence rates and temporal trends of IBD by race and ethnicity. Methods: The resources of the Rochester Epidemiologic Project were used to identify 814 county residents newly diagnosed with IBD from 1970 through 2010. Race was categorized into whites and nonwhites. Ethnicity was categorized into Hispanic and non-Hispanic. Incidence rates were estimated and adjusted for age and sex to the 2010 United States (US) population. Trends in incidence rates were evaluated by Poisson regression. Results: The adjusted annual incidence rate of IBD for whites was 21.6 cases per 100,000 person-years [95% confidence interval (CI), 20.0–23.1] and for nonwhites it was 13 per 100,000 (95% CI, 8.3–17.5). The incidence rates for whites and nonwhites increased by 39% and 134%, respectively, from 1970 through 2010. The adjusted annual incidence rate of IBD for Hispanics was 15 cases per 100,000 person-years (95% CI, 6.3–23.6) and for non-Hispanics was 20 per 100,000 (95% CI, 18.5–21.6). The incidence rate for Hispanics decreased by 56%, while the rate for non-Hispanics increased by 33%, from 1985 through 2010. In a Poisson regression, white race ( p < 0.0001), a later year of diagnosis ( p < 0.001), male sex ( p < 0.001) and younger age ( p = 0.009) were significantly associated with a higher incidence rate of IBD. Conclusions: There were significant racial and ethnic differences in the incidence and temporal trends of IBD over the last four decades in this US population-based cohort.