Prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease and related arthritis in Colombia, according to information from the Health and Social Protection Data System

Introduction: Registries are essential to keep track of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and related arthritis epidemiology, and to provide better care to patients. In Colombia, the health ministry has adopted a tool, SISPRO, to gather all information coming from the whole health system structure. Given that the information collected from SISPRO is available for anyone, it provides an opportunity to get an insight into health topics. Objectives: The data collected from SISPRO were used to analyse the prevalence and specific characteristics of patients with IBD and related arthritis registered between 2012 and 2016. Methods: This is a descriptive epidemiological study using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problem as keywords related to IBD and related arthritis during the analysis of SISPRO data. Results: National records report 42,647 patients with a diagnosis of IBD for an estimated prevalence of 87/100,000 subjects, being more frequent in women. The prevalence of Crohn's disease was 17/100,000 subjects, and 113/100,000 subjects for ulcerative colitis. The prevalence of arthritis related to inflammatory bowel disease was 5/100,000 subjects. Conclusions: This is the first study that describes the demographic characteristics of IBD in Colombia. This study is in accordance with that previously described in the available literature, which supports the theory about increasing global prevalence of IBD. Also, there are some differences between Colombian regions, which could be related to environmental factors and ancestry, which deserve further study.