Background/Aims Extraintestinal manifestations (EIM) involving joints, skin, eyes and liver represent an important problem in the treatment of IBD patients. The aim of this study was to identify factors that are associated with the occurrence of joint EIM and therefore allow an early diagnosis and guide medical treatment. Methods We studied clinical and epidemiological data from 3298 patients included in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study (SIBDCS), 1860 suffered from Crohn’s disease (CD) and 1438 from ulcerative colitis or IBD unclassified (UC/IBDU). Results We found female gender as well as a longer disease duration and activity (specified as CDAI or MTWAI, respectively) to be related to the appearance of arthritis/arthralgia, but also sacroiliitis/ankylosing spondylitis in IBD patients. IBD patients with arthritis/arthralgia or sacroiliitis/ankylosing spondylitis were more often treated with anti-TNF and patients with arthritis/arthralgia underwent more often IBD-related surgeries. We revealed that eye or skin EIM were more frequent in patients with arthritis/arthralgia or sacroiliitis/ankylosing spondylitis. In multivariate analysis, we confirmed female gender, longer disease duration, IBD-related surgery, presence of other EIM and treatment with anti-TNF to be independent risk factors for the onset of arthritis/arthralgia in CD and UC/IBDU patients. Conclusion In this study, we demonstrated that markers for a more severe disease course were associated with the onset of joint EIM in IBD patients. Our data suggest that in particular females under anti-TNF treatment and patients suffering from non-joint and/or IBD-related surgery should be close and carefully monitored for presence of arthritis or sacroiliitis/ankylosing spondylitis.

BACKGROUND:Extraintestinal manifestations (EIM) contribute significantly to the burden of disease in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Pain is a leading symptom in IBD and could be seen as an EIM itself. Treatment of IBD associated pain is challenging and insufficiently studied. A better knowledge on the association of pain and IBD specific treatment is warranted to improve the management of IBD patients.METHODS:All patients of the Swiss IBD Cohort Study (SIBDCS) (n = 2152) received a questionnaire regarding pain localization, pain character, and the use of IBD specific medication.RESULTS:1263 completed questionnaires were received. Twenty-one out of 184 patients (10%) receiving anti-TNF treatment compared to 142 out of 678 patients (21%) not receiving anti-TNF medication reported elbow pain (p = 0.002) while 28 out of 198 patients (14%) receiving steroid treatment significantly more often reported elbow pain compared to 59 from 696 patients (8%) not receiving steroids (p = 0.021). Furthermore, we found significantly more female patients under anti-TNF treatment to report knee/ lower leg pain and ankle/ foot pain compared to their male counterparts (36% vs. 20% and 22% vs. 10%, respectively, p = 0.015 for both comparisons). The frequency of knee, lower leg, ankle and foot pain was especially low in male patients under anti-TNF treatment, indicating a high benefit of male patients from anti-TNF therapy regarding EIM.CONCLUSIONS:The frequency of elbow pain was lower in IBD patients treated with anti-TNF but higher in patients treated with steroids.

BACKGROUND:Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) starting during childhood has been assumed to impair quality of life (QoL) of affected children. As this aspect is crucial for further personality development, the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was assessed in a Swiss nationwide cohort to obtain detailed information on the fields of impairment.METHODS:Data were prospectively acquired from pediatric patients included in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study. IBD activity was evaluated by PCDAI and PUCAI. The age adapted KIDSCREEN questionnaire was evaluated for 110 children with IBD (64 with Crohn's disease 46 with ulcerative colitis). Data were analyzed with respect to established reference values of healthy controls.RESULTS:In the KIDSCREEN index a moderate impairment was only found for physical wellbeing due to disease activity. In contrast, mental well-being and social support were even better as compared to control values. A subgroup analysis revealed that this observation was restricted to the children in the German speaking part of Switzerland, whereas there was no difference compared to controls in the French part of Switzerland. Furthermore, autonomy and school variables were significantly higher in the IBD patients as compared to controls.CONCLUSIONS:The social support for children with IBD is excellent in this cohort. Only physical well-being was impaired due to disease activity, whereas all other KIDSCREEN parameters were better as compared to controls. This indicates that effective coping and support strategies may be able to compensate the burden of disease in pediatric IBD patients.

BACKGROUND:The fatty acid mixture of human milk is ideal for the newborn but little is known about its composition in the first few weeks of lactation. Of special interest are the levels of long-chain PUFAs (LCPUFAs), since these are essential for the newborn's development. Additionally, the LCPUFAs arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are precursors for lipid mediators which regulate inflammation.METHODS:We determined the composition of 94 human milk samples from 30 mothers over the first month of lactation for fatty acids using GC-MS and quantified lipid mediators using HPLC-MS/MS.RESULTS:Over the four weeks period, DHA levels decreased, while levels of γC18:3 and αC18:3 steadily increased. Intriguingly, we found high concentrations of lipid mediators and their hydroxy fatty acid precursors in human milk, including pro-inflammatory leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving lipoxin A4 (LXA4), resolvin D1 (RvD1) and resolvin E1 (RvE1). Lipid mediator levels were stable with the exception of two direct precursors.CONCLUSIONS:Elevated levels of DHA right after birth might represent higher requirements of the newborn and the high content of anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving lipid mediators and their precursors may indicate their role in neonatal immunity and may be one of the reasons for the advantage of human milk over infant formula.

Objectives Whether behavioural and emotional maladjustment is more prevalent in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than in healthy controls remains controversial. The aim of this study was to assess paediatric IBD patients for problems with emotional and behavioural adjustment and to examine associations with clinical and demographic variables.Methods Data from paediatric patients with IBD enrolled in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study and the results of both the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the self-reported Child Depression Inventory (CDI) were analysed. Of the 148 registered patients, 126 had at least one questionnaire completed and were included.Results The mean age of 71 patients with Crohn's disease ( 44 males, 27 females) was 13.4 years, and 12.8 years for the 55 patients with ulcerative or indeterminate colitis. The mean duration of disease was 1.2 and 2.7 years, respectively. The total score of the SDQ was abnormal in 11.4% of cases compared to 10% in the normal population. Abnormal sub-scores were found in 20.2% of subjects for the domain of emotional problems and in 17.1% for problems with peers. The total CDI T score indicated a significantly lower prevalence of clinical depression in IBD patients than in normal youth. No correlation between the total SDQ scores or the CDI T scores and gender, type or duration of IBD, inflammatory markers or disease scores was found.Conclusions The prevalence of problems with behavioural and emotional adjustment among Swiss paediatric IBD patients is low and comparable to that of the normal population.

ABSTRACTObjectives:Increasing numbers of paediatric and adolescent patients with Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are reported. To determine whether this observation is a consequence of a shift towards onset at a younger age, we analysed retrospective data from patients enrolled in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study (SIBDCS).Patients and Methods:The SIBDCS is a disease‐based cohort in Switzerland, which collects retrospective and prospective data on a large sample of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Patients, diagnosed from 1980, were stratified according to diagnosis of CD and UC. Age at disease onset (age at first symptoms and age at diagnosis) was analysed in relation to calendar year of disease onset. Data were extracted from physician and patient questionnaires. Linear regressions of age at disease onset by calendar year of disease onset adjusted by sex, country of birth, and education were performed.Results:Adjusted regression coefficients for CD and UC were significantly positive, that is, age at disease onset has increased with time. Male sex was associated with an increase in age at disease onset, and birth in Switzerland with a decrease. These associations were statistically significant.Conclusions:The results from the SIBDCS do not support the hypothesis that disease onset of both CD and UC occur today at a younger age. On the contrary, our results show that there is a significant trend for age at disease onset occurring at an older age today as compared with recent decades. We conclude that the observation of increasing numbers of paediatric and adolescent patients with IBD is not caused by a trend towards disease onset at a younger age, but that this may rather be a consequence of the overall increasing incidence of these conditions.

OBJECTIVES:Increasing numbers of paediatric and adolescent patients with Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are reported. To determine whether this observation is a consequence of a shift towards onset at a younger age, we analysed retrospective data from patients enrolled in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study (SIBDCS).PATIENTS AND METHODS:The SIBDCS is a disease-based cohort in Switzerland, which collects retrospective and prospective data on a large sample of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Patients, diagnosed from 1980, were stratified according to diagnosis of CD and UC. Age at disease onset (age at first symptoms and age at diagnosis) was analysed in relation to calendar year of disease onset. Data were extracted from physician and patient questionnaires. Linear regressions of age at disease onset by calendar year of disease onset adjusted by sex, country of birth, and education were performed.RESULTS:Adjusted regression coefficients for CD and UC were significantly positive, that is, age at disease onset has increased with time. Male sex was associated with an increase in age at disease onset, and birth in Switzerland with a decrease. These associations were statistically significant.CONCLUSIONS:The results from the SIBDCS do not support the hypothesis that disease onset of both CD and UC occur today at a younger age. On the contrary, our results show that there is a significant trend for age at disease onset occurring at an older age today as compared with recent decades. We conclude that the observation of increasing numbers of paediatric and adolescent patients with IBD is not caused by a trend towards disease onset at a younger age, but that this may rather be a consequence of the overall increasing incidence of these conditions.

BACKGROUND:The diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), comprising Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), continues to present difficulties due to unspecific symptoms and limited test accuracies. We aimed to determine the diagnostic delay (time from first symptoms to IBD diagnosis) and to identify associated risk factors. METHODS:A total of 1591 IBD patients (932 CD, 625 UC, 34 indeterminate colitis) from the Swiss IBD cohort study (SIBDCS) were evaluated. The SIBDCS collects data on a large sample of IBD patients from hospitals and private practice across Switzerland through physician and patient questionnaires. The primary outcome measure was diagnostic delay. RESULTS:Diagnostic delay in CD patients was significantly longer compared to UC patients (median 9 versus 4 months, P < 0.001). Seventy-five percent of CD patients were diagnosed within 24 months compared to 12 months for UC and 6 months for IC patients. Multivariate logistic regression identified age <40 years at diagnosis (odds ratio [OR] 2.15, P = 0.010) and ileal disease (OR 1.69, P = 0.025) as independent risk factors for long diagnostic delay in CD (>24 months). In UC patients, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID intake (OR 1.75, P = 0.093) and male gender (OR 0.59, P = 0.079) were associated with long diagnostic delay (>12 months). CONCLUSIONS:Whereas the median delay for diagnosing CD, UC, and IC seems to be acceptable, there exists a long delay in a considerable proportion of CD patients. More public awareness work needs to be done in order to reduce patient and doctor delays in this target population.