Hyderabad: Health experts from the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG) hospitals cautioned against the consumption of ultra-processed food, positing it as a factor behind an alarming rate of increase in cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the country.
In the world’s largest study on IBD, researchers at AIG Hospitals screened over 30,000 colonoscopy samples in 32 villages of Telangana, in 26 months from March 2020 to May 2022.
Of 32,021 patients, 5.6 per cent in the rural setting and 5.4 per cent in the urban setting were diagnosed with IBD, while 3.5 per cent in rural and 3.1 per cent in urban settings had Crohn’s disease. The study was published in the Lancet Regional Health-Southeast Asia journal and was funded by Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy, the chairman and chief of gastroenterology, AIG Hospitals, said, “It is estimated than 15 lakh people in India are getting diagnosed with IBD every year, but the prevalence is not known. IBD is not considered a public health problem and there is lack of awareness among physicians about the disease; there is confusion over its overlap with infective diarrhoea and TB.”
Dr Rupa Banerjee, director, IBD department, AIG Hospitals and a co-author of the research, said that IBD was increasing due to the increased consumption of processed food and there was an urgent need to check the rise in IBD cases before it turns into an endemic.
“IBD has been a disease of the west but has now come to India. Non-communicable diseases, including IBD, are on the rise and as a country. We need to restructure our health policies for early diagnosis and prevention of IBD. Also, awareness among physicians and schools is very critical,” said Dr Rupa Banerjee.
Doctors further said that ultra-processed food was the major factor leading to IBD, as well as other gut-related diseases, and there was no regulation in food processing to limit the number of additives and preservatives added to processed foods.
Doctors also underlined risk factors associated with the chronic disease, such as smoking, non-vegetarian diet, fast food, childhood antibiotics, childhood exposure to pets, childhood infections and western toilets, whereas, for ulcerative colitis (UC), risk factors were birth by C-section and alcohol consumption.
Dr Nageshwar Reddy proposed suggestions to the government in terms of bringing regulation on ultra-processed food, like in Europe, to limit the number of preservatives added to processed foods, restrict the sale of processed food and fast food near schools and monitor diets in rural settings, as well as creating awareness at PHC level and in schools.
