Bristol Royal Hospital for Children contributes to study which shows Inflammatory Bowel Disease in children doubled in a decade

One of the biggest studies into paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), led by Southampton Children’s Hospital (SCH), has shown a significant rise in cases over the past decade.

Bristol Royal Hospital for Children was one of five NHS sites to provide SCH with data for the study, as well as Oxford, Exeter and Cardiff.

The outcomes showed all sites had seen a sustained increase in diagnosis since 2013, with the rate of IBD in children doubling in most areas. 

IBD is a term that describes several disorders involving chronic inflammation of tissues in the digestive tract, with the most common being Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

For some IBD is a mild chronic illness but for most it can be a lifelong, often debilitating condition which can lead to life-threatening complications. Symptoms are usually characterised by abdominal pain, diarrhoea, blood in poo, fatigue, and weight loss. 

Although the study showed a sharp increase in the rate of diagnosis, it does not show why diagnosis in the disease has increased. 

Christine Spray, a consultant in paediatric gastroenterology at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, said: “Inflammatory bowel disease is on the rise in children, and early referral to specialist units is key. The condition has a significant impact on children, their families, and even their education. 

"We have been happy to support Southampton Children’s Hospital with this important research. Hopefully, more awareness of this condition among health care professionals, and the public, will encourage more young people to talk about things they may find embarrassing, such as changes in their poo.”

Approximately 1,750 children and young people are diagnosed with IBD in the UK every year.

Dr James Ashton, consultant paediatric gastroenterologist at SCH said: “The results are a significant wake-up call, especially as the rate of increase was similar in all areas.”

Dr Ashton, who is also a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) advanced fellow at University of Southampton, continued: “It’s complicated to say why we’ve seen the increase as the disease is very specific to each individual, with everybody having an underlying genetic risk.

“However, genetics don’t change over 10 years, so the next obvious factor would be societal environmental and lifestyle changes.

“We have seen a shift in our diets with an increase in the consumption of processed foods and, although we don’t know if this is the predominant cause, it would certainly appear to play a part.

“However, it is important to state that there is no single trigger for the disease and having IBD is not the result of doing something wrong, we’re talking about contributing factors on a societal level here.”