Hospitalization-based major comorbidity of inflammatory bowel disease in Canada

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August 2007, Volume 21, Number 8: 507-511

Hospitalization-based major comorbidity of inflammatory bowel disease in Canada

CN Bernstein, A Nabalamba

OBJECTIVE: To define the patterns of hospitalization for known major comorbidities associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Canada.

METHODS: The data source was the Statistics Canada Health Person Oriented Information hospital database (1994/1995 to 2003/2004). The number of stays for a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis by the International Classification of Diseases, ninth edition, codes 555 or 556, or the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition, Canadian Enhancement, codes K50 or K51, was extracted. Age- and sex-specific and age-adjusted rates of hospitalization for selected IBD-related comorbidities were assessed.

RESULTS: Rates of Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were low in the hospitalized IBD population. Rates for colon cancer, rectal cancer, pulmonary emboli and deep venous thromboembolism were generally higher among IBD patients younger than 50 years of age compared with the non-IBD hospitalized population.

CONCLUSIONS: IBD was associated with life-threatening comorbidities such as venous thromboembolic disease and colon cancer among persons younger than 50 years of age to a greater extent than the general hospitalized population. Recent secular trends in rates of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas will need to be followed to determine whether the whole population, including IBD patients who receive immunomodulating therapies, are at increased risk.Key Words: Cancer; Crohn’s disease; Hospitalization; Inflammatory bowel disease; Lymphoma; Ulcerative colitis; Venous thromboembolism