Experts warn of 'rapid' growth of IBD as number of Canadians diagnosed set to reach 470K by 2035

A person suffering from stomach pain is seen in this stock image. (Pexels)

The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada. 

On Thursday, the national health charity unveiled its 2023 report on the impact of IBD in Canada, calling for action to be taken in order to enhance the well-being of individuals affected by the condition.

According to the report, 322,600 people, or 0.8 per cent of Canada’s population, are expected to be diagnosed with IBD this year. The percentage is projected to reach 1.1 per cent by 2035.

"The number of people in Canada living with IBD is growing rapidly. Healthcare needs to evolve to include multidisciplinary care, including access to specialist physicians and nurses, mental health professionals, dietitians and others to improve quality of." report co-chair Dr. Gilaad Kaplan, a professor of medicine and gastroenterologist at the University of Calgary, said in a news release on Thursday. 

The report says in 2023, a new case of IBD will be diagnosed every 48 minutes, totaling 11,000 individuals. By 2035, this number is expected to rise to 14,000, with a new case being identified every 38 minutes.

The report adds that the incidence of IBD among children under the age of six years old is increasing at a particularly rapid rate. However, the group experiencing the fastest growth in diagnosed cases of IBD is older Canadians.

People with low socioeconomic status, residents of rural, remote, and Northern communities as well as Indigenous people encounter additional barriers to care, the report says.

"We see there is a significant impact on mental health – psychiatric disorders are 1.5 to two times more common in people with IBD. Youth with IBD have nearly double the risk of psychiatric diagnosis. This underlines the importance of making mental health services available, especially in children, adolescents, and young adults." Dr. Eric Benchimol, report co-chair and professor of pediatrics and clinical epidemiology at the University of Toronto said in the news release.

WHAT IS IBD?

Crohn's and Colitis Canada says IBD describes a group of conditions the two main forms of which are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. These autoimmune diseases cause inflammation, ulcers, and bleeding in the bowel that can extend to the rest of the body. IBD is a completely different disease from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which does not result in visible inflammation or ulcers in the bowel, according to the report.

"The report highlights the need to use our financial and health care resources as effectively as possible. That's why, since 2016, our PACE network project has brought together leading Canadian hospital centres to develop best practices to help patients. We're hoping that within the next two years, we start seeing these pilot innovations being rolled out across Canada and leading to better care." Lori Radke, CEO of Crohn's and Colitis Canada, said in a news release.

Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.