S1678 Rising Fall Incidence Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Multiyear Analysis From a National Real-World Dataset

Introduction: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are more prone to falls given malnutrition, corticosteroid use, chronic inflammatory state, and frailty. However, the temporal trend and demographic patterns of fall incidence in this population remain underexplored. Our study aims to underscore the trends of falls in the IBD population, while stratifying based on age, gender, and ethnicity for a more comprehensive overview. Methods: We queried IBD patients using International Classification of Diseases codes on the TriNetX US Collaborative Network and identified 718,628 adults with IBD (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis) from 2017 to 2024. Fall events were identified through International Classification of Diseases-10 codes and analyzed for incidence and prevalence trends. Results were stratified by age, sex, and ethnicity. Results: Between 2017 and 2024, the incidence proportion of falls in IBD patients increased from 1.1% to 1.9%. Age-stratified analysis showed the highest fall rates in adults aged ≥85 years, with incidence rising from 5.7% to 7.8%. Females consistently had higher fall incidence than males (2.1% vs 1.6% in 2024). Non-Hispanic patients exhibited a greater increase than Hispanic patients (1.9% vs 1.5% in 2024). The rising burden of falls in IBD was most pronounced in older adults and females across all years. It is also worth noting the decline in the incidence of falls in 2020, which was also the year of COVID, which might indicate patients being more at home in safe environments, or simply underreporting of such instances. Conclusion: The incidence of falls in IBD patients has increased steadily over the past 8 years, with notable disparities by age, sex, and ethnicity. These trends underscore the need for targeted fall prevention strategies in high-risk IBD subpopulations. Further studies are indicated to dig deeper into the disparities amongst elderly, female, or non-Hispanic patient pools to improve overall patient outcomes.