Addressing unmet needs from a new frontier of IBD: the South Asian IBD Alliance

Abstract

Studies published over the past decade have highlighted an accelerating trend in the incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in countries in South Asia (ie, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka).1,2 Urbanisation, changes in lifestyle, and adoption of diets more common in industrialised countries has resulted in rapid increases in the incidence of IBD in South Asia. Additionally, the incidence of IBD among the children of South Asian migrants in Europe and North America is similar to children of non-migrant parents, suggesting an underlying genetic risk that interacts with environmental exposures.