{
  "abstract": "Objective Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasingly recognised in the Middle East, but limited regional data hinder a clear understanding of its burden. We aimed to examine trends in IBD diagnoses, disease phenotypes and predictors of poor outcomes at a major tertiary referral centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Methods In this retrospective observational study, we evaluated diagnostic trends in a cohort of 600 Arab patients between 2002 and June 2025 and analysed detailed phenotypes in a subcohort of 414 patients diagnosed since 2012.Results We observed a nearly 13-fold increase in new IBD diagnoses among Arab patients at our centre between 2002 and 2024. This cohort (median age at diagnosis 25 years; 65% Crohn’s disease (CD; n=269), 35% ulcerative colitis (UC; n=145)) demonstrated a sharper rise in CD compared with UC, with CD being diagnosed at a significantly younger age (median 25 years vs 30 years, p=0.001). A substantial proportion of patients with CD presented with complicated disease defined as stricturing (B2; 22%, n=59), penetrating (B3; 17%, n=46) and perianal (34%, n=92) disease. Ileocolonic (L3) disease was a significant predictor for presenting with a complicated phenotype (OR 3.89). Penetrating (OR 13.9), stricturing (OR 3.38) and perianal (OR 2.22) disease were significant predictors for requiring surgery. 84% of patients with CD and 62% of patients with UC were exposed to advanced therapy. A diagnosis of CD and younger age at diagnosis were associated with a higher likelihood of needing advanced therapy.Conclusions This study provides the most comprehensive data set on IBD diagnoses and phenotypes in the UAE to date, highlighting a pronounced rise in IBD overall and of aggressive disease presentations in CD in particular.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Hosameldin Abdelrahman Ahmed"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Mohamed Nasir Alzaabi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Thaer Khaleel Swaid"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Shaima Wasim Khan"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Ameirah Badr Abdullah Al Ali"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Khalifa Al Tenaiji"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Maryam A Alahmad"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Nadeen Mamon Omar"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Enas Fouad Ahmed"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Ibrahim Al Hosani"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Ishtiaq Ahmed"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Kishore Kumar Chitra Kumar"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Abu Dhabi Health Data Services, Malaffi, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Laurette L Bukasa"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Center for Molecular Prediction of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark",
        "Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark"
      ],
      "name": "Tine Jess"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Saeed H Al Marzooqi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Talha A Malik"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Gastroenterology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Pure Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE",
        "Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK",
        "College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE"
      ],
      "name": "Mohammed Nabil Quraishi"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Evolving clinical burden of inflammatory bowel disease in the United Arab Emirates: a two-decade analysis of diagnoses and disease severity",
  "uid": "86192c7e-22cc-5fed-a4cb-cba0ebdfcc1f"
}