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The global burden of IBD: from 2015 to 2025

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 12, pages 720–727 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Over 1 million residents in the USA and 2.5 million in Europe are estimated to have IBD, with substantial costs for health care. These estimates do not factor in the 'real' price of IBD, which can impede career aspirations, instil social stigma and impair quality of life in patients. The majority of patients are diagnosed early in life and the incidence continues to rise; therefore, the effect of IBD on health-care systems will rise exponentially. Moreover, IBD has emerged in newly industrialized countries in Asia, South America and Middle East and has evolved into a global disease with rising prevalence in every continent. Understanding the worldwide epidemiological patterns of IBD will prepare us to manage the burden of IBD over time. The goal of this article is to establish the current epidemiology of IBD in the Western world, contrast it with the increase in IBD in newly industrialized countries and forecast the global effects of IBD in 2025.

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Figure 1
Figure 2: The global prevalence of IBD in 2015.

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Acknowledgements

G.G.K. is supported through a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and a Population Health Investigator Award from Alberta-Innovates Health-Solutions. F. Underwood, University of Calgary, is acknowledged for proofreading the article.

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  1. Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, 6D56 Calgary, T2N 4Z6, AB, Canada

    Gilaad G. Kaplan

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G.G.K. has previously served as a speaker for Abbvie, Jansen, Merck, Schering-Plough and UCB Pharma, and has previously participated in advisory board meetings for Abbvie, Jansen, Merck, Schering-Plough, Shire and UCB Pharma. G.G.K. has also received research support from Abbvie, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Shire.

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Kaplan, G. The global burden of IBD: from 2015 to 2025. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 12, 720–727 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2015.150

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