Rising cases of gastrointestinal ailments, concerns, trends tackled in Cebu forum

By Minerva BC Newman LAPU LAPU CITY, Cebu – Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is an emerging health problem in the Philippines and the Asia Pacific region including India, Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom and that the disease is devastating among children and the young generation. This is according to the Asia Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE) which held its 3rd Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Clinical Forum last week at the Shangrila’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapulapu City, Cebu. APAGE president Prof. Kentaro Sugan, in a press briefing said that the event focused on the recent updates in the understanding of the causes, diagnosis and treatment of IBD. Prof. Sugano said 34 internationally-renowned gastroenterologists and surgeons from Asia, Australia, the UK and 400 doctors and specialists were on hand to learn, find solutions, exchange studies and research towards the improvement of digestive health in the Asia Pacific region and in the rest of the world. Gastro ailments in Asia-Pacific Professor Michael Kamm, an Australian gastroenterologist/researcher, noted that there has been an enormous explosion of IBD cases in South East Asia including the Philippines in the last 10 years in Europe and in Australia as well. Kamm said 25 years ago, IBD was not expected to become the significant health problemthat it is today because of its chronic condition which is usually affects the young working population. “This has tremendous bearing on society and becomes a medical and economic burden among families. We start to look at it as a medical need,” Kamm added. Better treatment, research He said doctors must learn how to treat the disease most effectively and how to better manage IBD patients in the country. Kamm added that he is doing research on the rise of IBD cases in the Philippines. IBD is a collection of inflammatory intestinal diseases, including two of the most common, Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Colon cancer risk These inflammations may cause deep scars of the intestine walls that can affect any part of the intestines from the mouth to the anus which can lead to complications in the colon that may lead to cancer, Kamm added. Travel, food links Kamm postulated two important factors why IBD emerged in Asia and in the Philippines—travel and food. He said IBD could be caused by travel, the exchange of bacteria in the gut of different people as they savor various cuisine from different places. “On food, from eating fresh food to an enormous shift to consuming a lot of processed food,” Kamm noted. The food study is important. There is an ongoing clinical study on the effect of processed food and the effect of antibiotic medication or consumption in the development and changes of bacteria in our guts, Kamm added. Antibiotics factor Dr. Leticia Ibanez-Guzman, president of the Philippine Society of Gastroenterology, said unnecessary use or exposure to antibiotics may cause alterations in the gut bacteria and most processed food come from agricultural products that have been injected with doses of antibiotics. IBD cases in PH “We do not know the prevalent rate of the disease yet, but we noted more and more IBD cases in the country. It is important to tackle IBD that is emerging in Asia and the public and even doctors do not understand this yet,” Guzman added. Professor Ida Hilmi form Malaysia agreed that IBD is often misdiagnosed as intestinal tuberculosis and other chronic intestinal inflammations. In Australia, one of 25 people is suffering from IBD and seven to 10 per 100,000 in South East Asia have IBDs.