Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has become a global disease. As IBD is a chronic disease that can result in remarkable morbidity and disability, estimation and understanding the disease burden of IBD is imperative to prepare adequate health care systems. However, variations in IBD incidence or prevalence may reflect differences in the distribution, and there are regional disparities in Asia with a large population of approximately 4.6 billion in 2020, which is equivalent to 60% of the total world population. Although comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of IBD in Asian countries is difficult, this review includes updated data regarding the incidence and prevalence of IBD and the estimated disease burden in Asia.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory disorder of the intestine with an interplay of genetic, immunological, and environmental factors with intestinal microbes. IBD is categorized into 2 identified subtypes: Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) [
In Asian countries, data on the longitudinal analyses of population-based studies on the incidence and prevalence of IBD have been insufficient. Because detailed and systematic review articles on similar issues have been published recently [
The most recent data on the incidence of IBD in Asian countries were shown in
In 2019, longitudinal data on the incidence of IBD were reported in Taiwan [
According to the multinational epidemiological study from Asia, the Asia-Pacific Crohn’s and Colitis Epidemiologic Study (ACCESS), the incidence of IBD had an increasing trend in Asian countries including Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Phillippines [
In a multicenter study using a hospital and territory-wide administrative coding system from Hong Kong, the age-adjusted incidence of IBD per 100,000 individuals increased from 0.10 (95% CI, 0.06–0.16) in 1985 to 3.12 (95% CI, 2.88–3.38) in 2014 [
In Japan, recent data on the longitudinal analysis of IBD epidemiology have been lacking. However, we have observed a constant increase in the incidence of IBD over the past 60 years, as published in the previous reports. In 1955, the incidence of CD and UC was 0.002/100,000 and 0.03/100,000, respectively [
In China, longitudinal data on the trend in the incidence of IBD is not available. In meta-analyses that summarized the epidemiologic data on a national level, the incidence of CD was estimated at 0.28/100,000 during 1950–2002 and this was slightly increased to 0.85/100,000 on extending the period to 1950–2007 in mainland China [
In Southeast Asia and South Asia, only a few studies on the epidemiology or natural course of IBD have been published [
Kaplan and Windsor [
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
Writing and approval of final manuscript: Park SH.
The incidence of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in Asia between 2011 and 2015 (per 100,000 inhabitants).
Estimated Number of Patients with IBD in Asian and Western Countries
Country | Year of incidence data | IBD incidence (/105) | Year of prevalence data | IBD prevalence (/105) | Population (million) | No. of patients with IBD | Percentage of the population |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Korea [ |
2015 | 9.0 | 2015 | 108.4 | 51.5 | 55,800 | 0.11 |
Japan [ |
2014 | 14.2 | 2014 | 165.1 | 127.3 | 210,200 | 0.17 |
Taiwan [ |
2015 | 1.4 | 2015 | 16.7 | 23.5 | 3,900 | 0.02 |
Hong Kong [ |
2014 | 3.0 | 2014 | 44.0 | 7.2 | 3,200 | 0.04 |
Malaysia [ |
2011–2013 | 0.7 | 2011–2013 | 9.2 | 29.5 | 2,700 | 0.01 |
China [ |
2011–2013 | 1.6 | 2007 | 2.3 |
1,318 | 30,300 | 0.00 |
India [ |
2012–2013 | 9.3 | 2000 | 44.3 |
1,057 | 468,300 | 0.04 |
Kazakhstan [ |
NA | 2017 | 113.9 | 18.0 | 20,500 | 0.11 | |
USA [ |
2000–2010 | 22.9 | 2010 | 530 | 309 | 1,637,700 | 0.53 |
Sweden [ |
2010 | 40.0 | 2010 | 540 | 9.9 | 55,100 | 0.54 |
Switzerland [ |
NA | 2014 | 408 | 8.4 | 34,300 | 0.41 |
Only Crohn’s disease data available.
Only ulcerative colitis data available.
IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; NA, not available.