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Incidence and clinical outcomes of intestinal Behçet’s disease in Korea, 2011–2014: a nationwide population-based study

  • Original Article—Alimentary Tract
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Abstract

Background

Intestinal Behçet’s disease (BD) is very rare, and epidemiologic data regarding BD are scarce. Moreover, there have been no population-based studies focusing on intestinal BD. We conducted a nationwide population-based study to examine the incidence and clinical course of Korean patients with intestinal BD.

Methods

We collected data on 365 patients diagnosed with intestinal BD from 2011 to 2014 using the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Services claims database. We analyzed the incidence and clinical outcomes, including cumulative rates of bowel resection, hospitalization, and medication use.

Results

During the study period, the average annual incidence for intestinal BD was 0.18 per 105 population, and the proportion of cases with intestinal involvement was 3.9%. At 1 and 4 years after diagnosis, the cumulative rates of surgery were 5.0 and 10.9%, respectively, whereas those of hospitalization were 27.8 and 32.4%, respectively. The 1- and 4-year cumulative rates of requirements for medications were 39.8 and 49.1% for moderate- to high-dose corticosteroids, 33.6 and 42.1% for immunomodulators, and 3.5 and 6.8% for biologics, respectively. The cumulative probability of corticosteroid and immunomodulator use was higher in male than in female patients and in younger (<40 years) than in older (≥40 years) patients. However, there were no significant differences in the cumulative probabilities of surgery, hospitalization, and biologics use according to sex and age group.

Conclusions

The incidence of intestinal BD in Korea is quite low and has been stable in recent years.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by two grants (A120176 and HI13C1345) from the Korean Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), which is funded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea; two grants (NRF-2013R1A2A2A01067123 and NRF-2014R1A1A1008096) from the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea, which is funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning; and a faculty research grant (2012-31-0477) from the Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University, College of Medicine.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

      Minkyung Han

    2. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

      Yoon Suk Jung

    3. Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea

      Won Ho Kim & Jae Hee Cheon

    4. Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea

      Sohee Park

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    Correspondence to Jae Hee Cheon or Sohee Park.

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    M. Han and Y. S. Jung contributed equally to this study.

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    Han, M., Jung, Y.S., Kim, W.H. et al. Incidence and clinical outcomes of intestinal Behçet’s disease in Korea, 2011–2014: a nationwide population-based study. J Gastroenterol 52, 920–928 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-016-1300-3

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