Intest Res.  2015 Jul;13(3):213-218. 10.5217/ir.2015.13.3.213.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort Studies in Korea: Present and Future

• Lee JW
• Im JP
• Cheon JH
• Kim YS
• Kim JS
• Han DS

• KMID: 2174464
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5217/ir.2015.13.3.213

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.

Keyword

Inflammatory bowel diseases; Cohort studies; Korea

MeSH Terms

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
Immunologic Factors
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 The progress of three studies of the Crohn's Disease Clinical Network and Cohort (CONNECT) study. KASID, Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases.6

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