The prevalence of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) in Dubai is increasing and is estimated to be 1 to 3 per cent, said one Dubai Health Authority (DHA) doctor.
Dr Ahmed Mohammed Khassouan, gastroenterologist specialist at Rashid Hospital said that IBD is a name given to both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Khassouan said that IBD commonly affects those aged 14 to 30-years-old. He added that Crohn’s disease is more likely to affect men while ulcerative colitis is more likely to affect women.
He added that Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory condition that can affect the whole GI tract (from mouth to anus) while ulcerative colitis usually affects the colon and rectum in specific cases.
The symptoms include chronic nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, weight loss, and decrease of appetite.
Khassouan said IBD is usually caused by genetic factors, disturbance of the autoimmune system and the environment.
He said studies have found that those who live in the country are less likely to have IBD than those who live in the city, due to environmental factors. These environmental factors could attribute to the increase in IBD diagnoses in the UAE in the last five years. He said that the Gastroenterology Unit at DHA’s Rashid Hospital cares for around 500 IBD cases and estimates that the prevalence in Dubai to be 1 to 3 per cent.
He said that those who suffer from IBD can live a good quality of life if they take medication to treat their case and maintain regular check ups.
He advised people who have IBD to refrain from eating preserved foods, spicy foods and foods with hormones as they can activate the symptoms. He added that those who suffer from IBD and wish to undertake bodybuilding should refrain from taking hormones and protein shakes as they can cause infertility.
Khassouan added that those who do not treat their IBD and do not get treatment can have troubles conceiving. However, once they get the treatment needed they would be able to conceive again.
