Increased Medication Utilization Precedes Incidentally Diagnosed Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Multicenter, Case-Control Study

This study investigates whether subclinical inflammation in asymptomatic patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) leads to increased medication use. In a multicenter, retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with incidental ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease during colorectal cancer screening (2010-2021), medication use was compared with symptomatic patients and healthy non-IBD controls. Asymptomatic patients showed a higher use of cardiovascular, antiparasitic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and sensory organ medications up to 5 years before diagnosis. This trend suggests that a systemic inflammatory process occurs years before clinical onset of IBD, suggesting the potential for earlier diagnosis and intervention.