Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the diagnosis levels of inflammatory bowel diseases in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
The two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis only affects the large intestine whereas Crohn’s disease affects the whole of the digestive system.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance indicates that ulcerative colitis has an incidence in the United Kingdom of approximately 10 per 100,000 people annually, and a prevalence of approximately 240 per 100,000. This amounts to around 146,000 people in the UK with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. In addition to this, there are currently at least 115,000 people in the UK with Crohn’s disease.
The Department does not hold information on diagnosis levels in Wales specifically; this is a matter for the devolved administration.
NICE published Crohn’s Disease Management in Adults, Children and Young People in October 2012 and Ulcerative Colitis Management in Adults, Children and Young People in June 2013. These set out best practice in the management of these conditions.
Treatment for both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is largely directed at symptom relief to improve quality of life, rather than cure. Management options include drug therapy, dietary and lifestyle advice and, in severe or chronic active disease, surgery. The aims of drug treatment are to reduce symptoms and maintain or improve quality of life.
