Patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at a young age have more severe disease activity

A study published recently in Digestion investigates whether patients with ulcerative colitis diagnosed at a young age have more severe disease activity than patients diagnosed when older.

Dr Jin Ha Lee and colleagues from Korea compared the clinical features and disease behavior of ulcerative colitis according to the age at onset.

The team performed a retrospective study including 455 patients with ulcerative colitis who were diagnosed and treated between 1990 and 2008 at a single tertiary institution in Korea.

The patients were divided into 2 groups according to their age at diagnosis of ulcerative colitis.

Group 1 included patients over 40 years, and Group 2 included less than 40 years of age.

53% with ulcerative colitis were diagnosed before the age of 40 years

Digestion

Clinical findings at diagnosis, extent of disease, treatment modalities used, cumulative admission rates, cumulative relapse rates, and surgery rates were analyzed according to these age groups.

The research team identified 53% of patients with ulcerative colitis diagnosed before the age of 40 years.

Disease severity at initial presentation as assessed by diarrhea frequency, the presence of pancolitis, and the use of steroids were higher in the young group.

However, clinical disease course including cumulative admission rates, cumulative relapse rates, and surgery rates were not significantly different between the 2 groups.

Dr Lee's team concludes, "Certain clinical features and the extent of disease in ulcerative colitis patients appear to be more severe when the disease is diagnosed at younger age."

"However, their disease course and prognosis might not be different from those of their older counterparts."