Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Aug 10: Childhood Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), once considered relatively uncommon in India, is increasingly being diagnosed among children, with specialists in Bengaluru reporting a noticeable rise in cases over the past decade.
Doctors said the increase could be due to a combination of a genuine rise in disease incidence and improved awareness, diagnosis and access to specialised healthcare.
At Smiles Institute of Gastroenterology, childhood IBD cases have increased by 12% over the past six months, while 886 children have been diagnosed with the condition over the last five years.
Dr CM Parameshwara, founder and CEO of the institute, said changing dietary patterns, including increased consumption of ultra-processed foods, sugary beverages and packaged snacks, along with reduced physical activity and changes in the gut microbiome, could be contributing to the trend.
Dr Lavenya RP, consultant in paediatric gastroenterology and hepatology at Rainbow Children's Hospital, said paediatric IBD has increased significantly in India over the past two decades.
Doctors are also increasingly seeing very-early-onset IBD among children below six years of age, she said.
Rapid urbanisation, lifestyle changes, pollution and passive smoking could contribute to IBD among older children, while improved diagnostic facilities have also resulted in more cases being identified, Dr Lavenya said.
Dr Shivakumar Sambargi, Head of Department and Senior Consultant, Paediatrics and Neonatology, Sakra World Hospital, said he has observed an increase in childhood IBD cases over the past five to 10 years, particularly among children living in urban areas.
He said he encounters around three to four suspected cases of childhood IBD every week.
Doctors have cautioned parents against dismissing recurrent abdominal pain, unexplained diarrhoea, blood in stools, poor growth, weight loss or reduced appetite as routine stomach infections.
Around 25% of IBD patients develop the condition before the age of 18, doctors said. While early adolescence is a commonly affected age group, IBD can also occur in infants and very young children.
Doctors also welcomed measures taken by the Karnataka government to improve children's diets, including restrictions on the sale and promotion of junk food around schools.
They stressed the importance of healthier food choices and regular physical activity in promoting children's overall health.