Welcome to the UK-wide Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Research Project
We would like to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to participate in our UK-wide survey on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Your valuable contributions have helped us explore important questions about Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, including whether where you live might influence your condition. We are excited to share the key results from our studies below. Thanks to your participation, we have been able to uncover meaningful patterns that may guide future research and potentially help improve the lives of people living with IBD.
We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to the following organisations for their incredible support in promoting our survey and helping us reach such a wide audience. Without their help, this research would not have been possible:
- Crohn’s & Colitis UK (CCUK)
- Crohn’s MAP Vaccine
- IBD UK
- Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
- Cicra
- Cure Crohn’s Colitis
- Crohn’s MAP Support Group
- Human Para Foundation
Your continued dedication to the IBD community is deeply appreciated.
You can find a summary of first IBD study below. We will continue to update this page as new findings become available.
Study 1 – Geographical Patterns of IBD in the UK
Where You Live Might Matter: A Nationwide Look at IBD in the UK
Between December 2021 and October 2022, over 5,400 people living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis took part in our UK-wide survey. Thanks to your responses, we were able to create one of the most detailed maps of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in the country.
What did we find?
- IBD is widespread: Reported cases of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are geographically widespread across the UK.
- Gender differences: Women aged 20–59 reported significantly higher rates of both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis than men.
- A regional pattern: One particular finding showed that Crohn’s disease appears to be relatively more common in parts of North-West England compared to ulcerative colitis — a pattern that may be worth investigating further.
We’re very grateful for your participation, which helped us uncover these important patterns. Your contribution is shaping future research.
📰 This study is published in PLOS ONE.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0329317