Hospital based cross sectional study on Socio Demographic associations of IBD

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is a growing problem in Asia. Limited studies available on IBD in Sri Lanka, are from urban areas. This study was conducted in a rural agricultural area of Sri Lanka.Objective: Evaluate disease characteristics and demographic associations of patients with IBD.All patients with IBD from February 2015 to January 2016 were recruited. Data were obtained from hospital records and using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Age, sex and ethnicity matched controls were recruited from the same hospital.36 patients (52.8% male, mean age 37.2 SD14.4 years) had IBD of which 21 (58.3%) had Ulcerative colitis and 15 (47.3%) had Crohns disease. All were steroid responsive and none had penetrative or stricturing disease. Control group consisted of 108 patients (52.8% male, mean age 37.1 SD15.7 years). Two IBD patients and none of the controls had positive family histories (P=0.06). Significantly higher proportion of IBD patients completed higher education (18/36 Vs 23/108 P=0.002), had better housing standards (27/36 Vs 48/108 P=0.001) and received deworming treatment (32/36 Vs 73/108 P=0.016) compared to controls. Use of boiled water (P=0.08) and low fiber diet (P=0.06) were not significantly associated with IBD. Similarly, history of appendicectomy and smoking were not associated with Crohns disease.Conclusion: Better educational and housing standards were observed in patients with IBD. Deworming treatment is positively associated with IBD.