The Same Intestinal Inflammatory Disease despite Different Genetic Risk Factors in the East and West?

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease with unknown etiology. It is likely caused by a complex interplay between genetic, immunologic and environmental factors. Although IBD is still relatively uncommon in Asia, a multitude of studies have shown that it is an emerging disease around the world. Recent insights have highlighted both the similarities and differences amongst Asian and Western IBD patients. Summary: The annual incidence of IBD in the East is still low compared with the West, but there are differences between different regions of Asia. Time trend studies have shown that the incidence of IBD is on the rise. Some notable differences in the clinical manifestations of IBD between the East and West have also been noted. ‘Westernization’ of lifestyle may encompass various social and environmental changes that account for the emergence of IBD in our population, although genetics also plays a role in disease pathogenesis. Diagnosis and treatment challenges include limited access to medical care in certain areas, limited availability and high cost of Received: March 6, 2016 Accepted: May 6, 2016 Published online: July 15, 2016 Siew C. Ng Institute of Digestive Disease Room 94020, 7/F Lui Che Woo Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital Shatin NT, Hong Kong (SAR) E-Mail siewchienng @ cuhk.edu.hk © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel 2296–9403/16/0012–0078$39.50/0