Burden of inflammatory bowel disease in Belgium, 2020

Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comprises digestive disorders resulting from non-infectious inflammation of the colon and gastrointestinal tract. With its global prevalence on the rise, IBD poses significant challenges to healthcare systems. There is a need for more accurate disease burden estimates to guide decision-making processes within the health sector. As a part of the Belgian national burden of disease study (BeBOD), this study aims to estimate the burden of IBD in Belgium based on locally available data. We estimated the Belgian IBD burden in 2020 in terms of mortality, prevalence, years of life lost (YLLs) due to premature death, years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). As there is no single comprehensive data source on prevalence of IBD in Belgium, a critical appraisal of existing local and national data sources was conducted. Prevalence data were combined with disability weights to yield YLDs. YLLs were calculated using the most recent Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 reference life table and the number of deaths caused by non-infective IBD (ICD-10 K50-52). Cause of death data were extracted from Statbel, the Belgian statistical office. The best available data source to estimate the IBD prevalence in Belgium was a widespread network of general practitioners. The prevalence of IBD was 1.5% in 2020. The prevalence-based YLD for IBD was 220 YLDs per 100 000, while the YLL rate was 11.5 per 100 000. We estimated 26 276 DALYs caused by IBD in 2020. Of the total DALYs caused by IBD, 5% were due to YLLs and 95% were due to YLDs. Our burden estimates for IBD in Belgium were however higher than those of the GBD study. IBD imposes a low fatal burden, whereas the burden of morbidity is more prominent. Our findings could be useful for policy makers to justify and prioritize resource allocation. Integrating the current research in BeBOD will allow monitoring the burden of IBD over time. Key messages • Inflammatory bowel disease is characterized by a substantial non-fatal burden due to chronic relapsing and persistent symptoms. • National inflammatory bowel disease burden estimates are useful to guide decision-making within the health sector.