Big Data/Machine Learning/AI
Trend in incidence rates of Iron deficiency anemia in Inflammatory bowel disease patients: a 14-year descriptive study in Taiwan Yi-Hsuan Lin* Yi-Hsuan Lin
Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs in the digestive tract. In the past, the prevalence and incidence of IBD were relatively high in Western countries, and it was generally thought to be due to the western dietary habits and urban industrialization. Long-term damage to the intestinal mucosa not only reduces the absorption of iron, but also increases the risk of anemia due to bleeding from ulcers and the inhibition of red blood cell production. Studies show that 74% of IBD patients suffer from Iron deficiency anemia (IDA). However, research on the long-term trends of the relationship between IBD and the risk of IDA in Taiwan is limited.
Aim: Using a large-scale, population-based national database to examine the incidence of IDA with IBD, and analyze the demographic characteristics of the cohort generation.
Methods: We conducted a descriptive study using Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), identifying about 66,383 new cases of IBD from 2000 to 2013. The study analyzes the distribution of basic demographic characteristics including age, gender, and number of medical visits.
Results: About 901 cases IDA with IBD were diagnosed, as we could see the incidence rate was 41.9 among females and 12.2 among males, which females were higher than males. Overall, the total incidence rate increased from 3.1 to 27.9 in the past 14 years. We grouped the age of patients into five categories, which the incidence rate of IDA with IBD was 16.7 in 20-30 age group, 22.4in 30-40 age group, 20.1 in 40-50 age group, 10.2 in 50-60 age group and 19.5 in ≥60 age group, and discovered that the increase in incidence rates was mostly concentrated in the 30-40 age group. Also, the average number of IBD medical visits was 3.52. The incidence rate of IDA was 12.8, 16.0, and 22.7 by 1-2 visits, 3-4visits and >5 visits for IBD, respectively, which as the number of IBD medical visits increased, the incidence rate of IDA also increased.
Conclusion: The incidence rate of IDA with IBD has steadily increased in Taiwan in the past 14 years. Our finding suggests that there may be a potential relationship between IBD and IDA, and we can focus on the inferential research to assess this correlation in the future.
