Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort Studies in Korea: Present and Future.
- Author:
Jung Won LEE
1
;
Jong Pil IM
;
Jae Hee CHEON
;
You Sun KIM
;
Joo Sung KIM
;
Dong Soo HAN
Author Information
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords: Inflammatory bowel diseases; Cohort studies; Korea
- MeSH: Cohort Studies*; Far East; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Immunologic Factors; Incidence; Inflammation; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases*; Intestinal Diseases; Intestines; Korea; Leukopenia; Prevalence; Prognosis; Risk Factors; Tuberculosis; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
- From:Intestinal Research 2015;13(3):213-218
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is defined as a chronic and relapsing inflammatory disorder of the intestine. Intestinal inflammation in IBD has been proposed to be attributable to the interplay between microbial, genetic, environmental, and immunological factors. The incidence and prevalence rates of IBD are rapidly increasing apparently in other parts of the world, with dramatic increases especially in East Asia. Generally, cohort studies are useful for estimating the incidence, prevalence, natural course, prognosis, and risk factors of diseases. In particular, cohort studies performed in Western countries have well described the prevalence, risk factors, and natural course of IBD and investigated its genetic pathophysiology. However, the outcomes of IBD cohort studies performed in Korea are not as persuasive as those of Western studies because of the relatively low prevalence of IBD and short follow-up periods of the cohorts in Korea. Despite this critical limitation, members of the Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases have demonstrated outstanding results. Some unique features of IBD patients in Korea are well demonstrated, such as thiopurine-induced leukopenia or risks of opportunistic tuberculosis infection in patients receiving tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors. In this review, the present authors summarized the key points of the results of the cohort studies performed in Korea and explored future perspectives.
