Malattia infiammatoria intestinale

Inflammatory bowel disease (or IBD) is a group of chronic idiopathic, relapsing and remitting disorders that cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.^1–3Although it was traditionally regarded as a disease of westernised nations, IBD is becoming a global disease at the turn of the 21st century.² It impacts every aspect of the affected individual's life⁴ and accounts for substantial costs to the health care system and society.⁴

Over 3.5 million people affected in the Western world

The prevalence of IBD in the Western world is up to 0.5% of the general population²

Ng SC, et al. Lancet. 2018;390(10114):2769–2778.
Kaplan, GG. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2015;12:720–727.

The types of IBD and risk factors

There are two main types of IBD: ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD).⁵ Ulcerative colitis is a predominantly mucosal disease, its fundamental symptoms is rectal bleeding, and involves the rectum and can affect part of the colon or the entire colon in a continuous pattern.⁶ In contrast, Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the gastro-intestinal track (from mouth to rectum), although its location more common is the ileum.

Multifactorial Disease

Imbalance of Intestinal Microbiota Causitive & aggravating factors

Khor B, et al. Nature. 2011;474(7351):307–317.
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Ananthakrishnan AN, et al. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;15(1):39–49

Although, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease differ in location and depth of inflammation, they share similar symptoms.⁷ In general, the symptoms depend on the segment of the intestinal tract involved.⁸ Symptoms related to inflammatory damage in the gastrointestinal tract include diarrhoea (characterised by stools with mucus or blood, nocturnal diarrhoea or incontinence), constipation, pain or rectal bleeding with bowel movement, bowel movement urgency, tenesmus, abdominal cramps and pain, nausea and vomiting.^8,9 If you have IBD you are at higher risk of also having iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia. Indeed, anaemia is the most common non-intestinal symptom of IBD10.

Ulcerative Colitis^1,2

Rectal pain, with or without diarrhoea
Bloody diarrhoea
Rectal bleeding
Faecal incontinence
Urgency / tenesmus
Nocturnal defecation
Abdominal cramps or pain
Increased frequency of bowel movements

Crohn’s Disease³

Abdominal pain often found in the lower right quadrant
Chronic diarrhoea that can alternate with episodes of constipation
Rectal bleeding or bloody diarrhoea
Nausea / vomiting

Ungaro R, et al. Lancet. 2017;389(10080):1756–1770.
Magro F, et al. J Crohns Colitis. 2017;11(6):649–670.
Torres J, et al. Lancet. 2017;389(10080):1741–1755.

Why are you at risk?

If you have IBD of any kind, you are at risk of iron deficiency. Learn more about the risk of IDA.

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Talk to your doctor

Warning signs

Perché sei a rischio?

Se hai una qualsiasi forma di malattia infiammatoria intestinale (Inflammatory Bowel Disease, IBD), corri il rischio di avere una carenza di ferro. Il 36%–76% circa delle persone affette da IBD sviluppano l’anemia sideropenica (IDA). Per saperne di più sul rischio di IDA.

Campanelli d’allarme

I sintomi della carenza di ferro possono interessare molte regioni del corpo. Posso insorgere uno o più di questi sintomi contemporaneamente. È necessario prendere in esame tutti i segni della carenza di ferro.

È necessario consultare il medico

In caso di diagnosi di IBD, è necessario sottoporsi a visite mediche periodiche di controllo. In caso di astenia o altri eventuali segni di carenza di ferro quali pallore, sensazione di svenimento o tachicardia, è opportuno parlare con il medico dei sintomi e della carenza di ferro.

Opzioni terapeutiche

Una volta accertati i livelli di ferro, il medico può stabilire il trattamento migliore.