Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities
can affect IBD management
While UC is primarily associated with those of European ancestry,
there has been an increase in diagnoses in ethnic minorities1,2
A retrospective cohort analysis suggested that new diagnoses of IBD increased at a faster rate in minority populations between 1985 and 20103*
Aniwan S, Harmsen WS, Tremaine WJ, Loftus EV Jr. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2019;12:1-8. © 2019. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.3
Study limitations: The study was a retrospective cohort analysis limited by data collection from a relatively small county (Olmsted County, Minnesota), which was not as diverse racially and ethnically when compared with the entire US population. Techniques used to diagnose IBD have evolved during this study period.3,4
Although the prevalence of IBD in minority populations has also increased, they remain underserved when it comes to IBD care2
Reprinted from Gastroenterology. 2021;160(3):677-689. Barnes EL, Loftus EV Jr, Kappelman MD. Effects of race and ethnicity on diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel diseases.
© 2021, with permission from Elsevier.2
Overcoming these disparities can begin with ensuring patients understand their diagnosis and know how to manage their symptoms through improved health information fluency2
Health information fluency can help improve2:
Patient engagement
Patient relationships with their physician(s)
Adherence to IBD care recommendations
Doctors have never really had a conversation about anything in terms of [my] background. They ask more about family history. Not really your lifestyle or the people you grew up with.5
*This study included patients with UC and patients with CD.3
CD=Crohn’s disease; IBD=inflammatory bowel disease; UC=ulcerative colitis.
References: 1. Castaneda G, Liu B, Torres S, Bhuket T, Wong RJ. Race/ethnicity-specific disparities in the severity of disease at presentation in adults with ulcerative colitis: a cross-sectional study. Dig Dis Sci. 2017;62(10):2876-2881. 2. Barnes EL, Loftus EV Jr, Kappelman MD. Effects of race and ethnicity on diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel diseases. Gastroenterology. 2021;160(3):677-689. 3. Aniwan S, Harmsen WS, Tremaine WJ, Loftus EV Jr. Incidence of inflammatory bowel disease by race and ethnicity in a population-based inception cohort from 1970 through 2010. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2019;12:1-8. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1756284819827692. Accessed February 21, 2023. 4. Mulder DJ, Noble AJ, Justinich CJ, Duffin JM. A tale of two diseases: the history of inflammatory bowel disease. J Crohns Colitis. 2014;8(5):341-348. 5. Data on file. Pfizer Inc.