Literature Review of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in South Asian Populations

Background: South Asians have been recently identified as having rapidly rising incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There is a paucity of data regarding the phenotypic and genotypic associations of IBD among the patients of this region. Due to the rising disease prevalence, a study on South Asian population can disclose more information about the etiopathogenetic causes of the disease. Methods: Here we did a review article of IBD among South Asians. In order to get a correct sense of factors associated with the disease, we have reviewed approximately 150 articles through the PubMed search and google scholar. Results: We attempted to find temporal trends of IBD among south Asian population, compared phenotype and genotype of IBD among South Asians and western patients and looked at the patterns of IBD presentation in different countries of South Asia. We have also reviewed the differences in the incidence of IBD among South Asian immigrants and discussed the treatment challenges of IBD among this special population. Conclusion: We identified that both patients in South Asia as well as South Asian patients living in Western countries are at greater risk for all types of IBD. This geographical region provides an opportunity for revealing possible etiopathogenetic factors. Further population-based studies, comparison of studies in South Asians and immigrants from South Asian countries, and large-scale biologic treatment models need to be accelerated to control the disease burden in South Asians, as well as to achieve reduced burden globally.