This month, the Brazilian Society of Coloproctology (SBCP) is holding another edition of the Maio Roxo campaign, to alert the population about inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), which are characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and can reach from the mouth to the anus. Throughout the month, SBCP will publish texts and videos on the Coloproctology Portal to clarify the main doubts surrounding IBDs. The campaign highlights World Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day, on the 19th.
SBCP’s Communications Director, Helio Antonio Silva, told Brazil Agency that inflammatory bowel diseases, often underdiagnosed, have increased significantly in Brazil. The campaign aims to alert the population and also doctors about these diseases, whose prevalence increased by 15% between 2012 and 2020, according to a study carried out by researchers from the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná with 212 thousand patients from the Unified Health System (SUS).
The prevalence of inflammatory bowel diseases reached 100 cases for every 100.1 thousand inhabitants. In 2012, it was 30 per 100 thousand inhabitants. The highest concentration was recorded in the Southeast and South regions of the country. The study was published in the international journal Lancetin 2022, and can be accessed at this link. Worldwide, IBD affects more than 5 million people.
Doctor Paulo Gustavo Kotze, full member of the SBCP and one of the authors of the study, highlighted that the data collected does not include cases from the supplementary health system, but only cases from the public network. Kotze said the increase in the number of cases may be related to the Westernized lifestyle, diet and genetic profile of patients.
Industrialized society
In the South and Southeast, the incidence is already similar to that in European countries. According to the doctor, the disease is typical of more industrialized societies. “A more natural diet protects. Brazil has always been considered a place with a low incidence of IBD, but in the 21st century it has increased a lot, taking on characteristics of countries further north in Europe, where the incidence is even higher,” said Silva.
According to the director of SBCP, the cause of IBD is still unknown. “It seems like it’s multifactorial.” The appearance of these diseases may be linked to factors such as family history, changes in the immune system, changes in intestinal flora, diet and environmental influence. Smoking, for example, is a proven risk factor for worsening Crohn’s disease.
Hélio Silva highlighted that the objective of the campaign is to make people aware that the disease exists, for patients to seek specialized help and for non-specialist doctors to remember that treatment must be carried out correctly, with tests such as colonoscopy.
No cure
Inflammatory bowel diseases have no cure. The most common are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Adolescents and young adults are most affected by IBD. “These are chronic diseases in which good control is achieved, but the patient cannot go without the medication. Treatment is not a permanent cure. Treatment is for control.”
The main symptoms are diarrhea that lasts more than 15 days, recurrent diarrhea with cramping, blood, mucus or pus in the stool, weight loss, urgency to evacuate, lack of appetite, tiredness. “These are the most common signs of the two inflammatory bowel diseases. They alert the patient to seek a specialist, which could be a gastroenterologist or proctologist.”
In more serious cases, anemia, fever, malnutrition and abdominal distension can also be observed. Around 15 to 30% of patients may also present extraintestinal manifestations such as joint pain, skin or eye lesions, says the Brazilian Society of Coloproctology.
Diet is fundamental in the treatment of IBD, because good eating habits can avoid crises, prevent the development of the disease and maintain remission, says the SBCP. The diet must be individualized, depending on the patient’s condition and stage, and guided by a multidisciplinary team that includes doctors and nutritionists.
