Increased medication utilization precedes incidentally diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease: a multicenter, case-control study.

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This study investigates whether subclinical inflammation in asymptomatic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients leads to increased medication use. In a multicenter, retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with incidental ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease during colorectal cancer screening (2010-2021), medication use was compared with symptomatic patients and healthy non-IBD controls. Asymptomatic patients showed a higher use of cardiovascular, antiparasitic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and sensory organ medications up to five years before diagnosis. This trend suggests that a systemic inflammatory process occurs years before clinical onset of IBD, suggesting the potential for earlier diagnosis and intervention.