"It's sad to be sick..." 30% of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients are Obese

[Financial News] Recently, with the influence of Westernized eating habits and lifestyle, the obesity rate is continuously increasing, and the obesity prevalence rate of inflammatory bowel disease patients is showing an increasing trend that exceeds that of the general population. Seoul Asan Hospital's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, led by Professors Hwang Seong-wook and Kim Min-kyu, analyzed the Body Mass Index (BMI) of 11,216 domestic inflammatory bowel disease patients, revealing that the average obesity rate rose 2.3 times from 13.1% in 2008 to 29.8% in 2021.
Along with the increase in obesity rate, hematological indicators related to metabolic syndrome, such as blood sugar and cholesterol, are also showing a continuous upward trend, indicating the need for tailored management for patients with both inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic syndrome.
This study is significant as it is the first to prove the increase in obesity prevalence among inflammatory bowel disease patients by analyzing the largest dataset of such patients in Asia.
Inflammatory bowel disease, which causes chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, is typically represented by Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Since it is incurable, appropriate treatment methods must be implemented according to each patient's characteristics and symptoms, and lifelong treatment and management must be continued.
However, previous studies have mostly focused on the traditionally high-obesity white race, lacking specific analysis of obese populations among Asian inflammatory bowel disease patients.
Moreover, considering the different obesity criteria between the West (BMI ≥ 30kg/m²) and the East (BMI ≥ 25kg/m²), there was a need to establish treatment standards and evidence for Asians.
The research team of Hwang Seong-wook and Kim Min-kyu analyzed changes in BMI and metabolism-related blood indicators for 11,216 inflammatory bowel disease patients who visited Seoul Asan Hospital from 2008 to 2021 to establish tailored treatment goals and strategies for Asian patients.
As a result, the average obesity rate of inflammatory bowel disease patients increased significantly from 13.1% in 2008 to 29.8% in 2021, a rise of 16.7%. During the same period, the obesity rate of the general population increased by only 6.4%, from 30.7% in 2008 to 37.1% in 2021.


When analyzing the trend of BMI changes by gender, men showed an increase about four times higher than women. The obesity rate among female patients increased by 5.8%, from 9.2% in 2008 to 15.0%, while the obesity rate among male patients rose significantly by 22.6%, from 15.1% in 2008 to 37.7% in 2021.
Along with the gradual increase in BMI, hematological indicators related to metabolic syndrome also showed a continuous upward trend. In particular, blood sugar showed a tendency to rise beyond the normal range (70~99mg/dL), and total cholesterol levels steadily increased within the normal range.
The triglyceride levels of Crohn's disease patients rose from an appropriate level in 2008 to a borderline level of over 150mg/dL in 2021.
Obesity and metabolic syndrome are known to not only cause various complications, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but also worsen the prognosis of inflammatory bowel disease.
Although systematic management is necessary for inflammatory bowel disease patients, there are limitations in applying general obesity management methods due to dietary restrictions, history of bowel resection surgery, or medications affecting weight and metabolism.
Professor Hwang stated, “In a situation where there is a lack of clinical evidence on obesity in Asian inflammatory bowel disease patients, we obtained important research results proving the association between inflammatory bowel disease and obesity rates. Based on this study, we will focus on developing treatment strategies that consider the individual characteristics of patients and help with long-term prognosis.”
The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Seoul Asan Hospital is establishing tailored management strategies for patient groups with metabolic syndrome or fatty liver and is systematically collecting clinical data from patients to plan future prognosis analysis and treatment strategy development.
More than 16,000 inflammatory bowel disease patients are registered at the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Seoul Asan Hospital, making it the largest single institution in the country.
Over the past 10 years, more than 200 foreign medical professionals from 25 countries have visited to learn know-how, gaining international recognition in the field of inflammatory bowel disease treatment.
Meanwhile, the results of this study were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Gastroenterology (impact factor 6.9).

vrdw88@fnnews.com Kang Jung-mo Reporter