Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of ulcerative colitis in north-eastern Mexico

Background: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) compromises two entities: Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn Disease (CD). The incidence and prevalence vary widely in relation to ethnicity and demographic localization. Historically it has been considered a rare disease in Mexico. Objective: To determine the frequency of new UC cases and their clinical characteristics in a referral hospital of North-Eastern Mexico. Methods: An epidemiological, descriptive and retrospective study was made which included newly diagnosed patients with UC in a five years period. Results: The adjusted rate of patients diagnosed with UC to the number of admissions for year was 2.3, 2.6, 3.0, 3.6 and 4.1/1000 admissions between 2004 and 2008. The rate of newly diagnosed patients with UC has doubled in the year 2008 compared with the year 2004 (p < 0.05). Fifty five percent of the patients showed mild disease, 30% showed moderate disease and 15% showed severe disease. Fifty percent of the patients had pancolitis, left sided colitis was present in 21% and 29% of the patients just had proctitis. Other clinical aspects of UC corresponded to those previously described. Conclusion: The frequency of new patients diagnosed with UC has significantly increased in this tertiary-care referral hospital for the last five years.