The prevalence of malnutrition in inflammatory bowel disease patients was high. We identified some predictive factors of malnutrition. Most of the patients had self-imposed food restrictions, based on their beliefs.

(1) Aims: To assess the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Spain, to describe the main epidemiological and clinical characteristics at diagnosis and the evolution of the disease, and to explore the use of drug treatments. (2) Methods: Prospective, population-based nationwide registry. Adult patients diagnosed with IBD—Crohn’s disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or IBD unclassified (IBD-U)—during 2017 in Spain were included and were followed-up for 1 year. (3) Results: We identified 3611 incident cases of IBD diagnosed during 2017 in 108 hospitals covering over 22 million inhabitants. The overall incidence (cases/100,000 person-years) was 16 for IBD, 7.5 for CD, 8 for UC, and 0.5 for IBD-U; 53% of patients were male and median age was 43 years (interquartile range = 31–56 years). During a median 12-month follow-up, 34% of patients were treated with systemic steroids, 25% with immunomodulators, 15% with biologics and 5.6% underwent surgery. The percentage of patients under these treatments was significantly higher in CD than UC and IBD-U. Use of systemic steroids and biologics was significantly higher in hospitals with high resources. In total, 28% of patients were hospitalized (35% CD and 22% UC patients, p < 0.01). (4) Conclusion: The incidence of IBD in Spain is rather high and similar to that reported in Northern Europe. IBD patients require substantial therapeutic resources, which are greater in CD and in hospitals with high resources, and much higher than previously reported. One third of patients are hospitalized in the first year after diagnosis and a relevant proportion undergo surgery.

Objectives: Mobile apps are useful tools in e-health and selfmanagement strategies in disease monitoring. We evaluated the Harvey-Bradshaw index (HBI) mobile app self-administered by the patient to see if its results agreed with HBI in-clinic assessed by a physician. Methods: Patients were enrolled in a 4-month prospective study with clinical assessments at months 1 and 4. Patients completed mobile app HBI and within 48 h, HBI was performed by a physician (gold standard). HBI scores characterized Crohn's disease (CD) as remission <5 or active ‡5. We determined agreement per item and total HBI score and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Bland-Altman plot was performed. HBI changes in disease activity from month 1 to month 4 were determined. Results: A total of 219 patients were enrolled. All scheduled assessments (385 pairs of the HBI questionnaire) showed a high percentage of agreement for remission/activity (92.4%, j = 0.796), positive predictive value (PPV) for remission of 98.2%, and negative predictive value of 76.7%. High agreement was also found at month 1 (93.15%, j = 0.82) and month 4 (91.5%, j = 0.75). Bland-Altman plot was more uniform when the HBI mean values were <5 (remission). ICC values were 0.82, 0.897, and 0.879 in all scheduled assessments, 1 and 4 months, respectively. Conclusions: We found a high percentage of agreement between patients' self-administered mobile app HBI and in-clinic physician assessment to detect CD activity with a remarkably high PPV for remission. The mobile app HBI might allow a strict control of inflammation by remote monitoring and flexible follow-up of CD patients. Reduction of sanitary costs could be possible.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with a considerable burden to the patient and society. However, current data on IBD incidence and burden are limited because of the paucity of nationwide epidemiological studies, heterogeneous designs, and a low number of participating centers and sample size. The EpidemIBD study is a large-scale investigation to provide an accurate assessment of the incidence of IBD in Spain, as well as treatment patterns and outcomes. Methods: This multicenter, population-based incidence cohort study included patients aged >18 years with IBD (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or unclassified IBD) diagnosed during 2017 in 108 hospitals in Spain, covering 50% of the Spanish population. Each participating patient will attend 10 clinic visits during 5 years of follow up. Demographic data, IBD characteristics and family history, complications, treatments, surgeries, and hospital admissions will be recorded. Results: The EpidemIBD study is the first large-scale nationwide study to investigate the incidence of IBD in Spain. Enrollment is now completed and 3627 patients are currently being followed up. Conclusions: The study has been designed to overcome many of the limitations of previous European studies into IBD incidence by prospectively recruiting a large number of patients from all regions of Spain. In addition to epidemiological information about the burden of IBD, the 5-year follow-up period will also provide information on treatment patterns, and the natural history and financial burden of IBD.

Background Very few studies have reported updated data on the incidence, clinical evolution and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Europe. Aims i) To assess the incidence of IBD in Spain; ii) to describe the main epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients at diagnosis and the evolution of the disease; and iii) to explore the use of drug treatments in the biological era. Methods Prospective and population-based nationwide registry. Adult patients diagnosed with IBD -Crohn’s disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or IBD unclassified (IBD-U)- during 2017 in all the 17 Spanish administrative regions were included and will be followed-up for 5 years after diagnosis. Treatment was grouped into 5 categories: mesalazine (oral or topical), steroids (intravenous, oral or topical), immunomodulators (thiopurines, methotrexate or cyclosporine), biologics (anti-TNF, vedolizumab or ustekinumab) and surgery. Results 3627 incident cases of IBD diagnosed during 2017 in 108 hospitals covering over 22 millions of adult inhabitants (about 50% of the Spanish population) comprise the study cohort (Table 1). The overall incidence (cases/100.000 person-years) was 16 for IBD, 7.5 for CD, 8 for UC, and 0.5 for IBD-U. Incidence of CD was somewhat higher in Central Spain, while that of UC was higher in Northern Spain (Asturias and Navarra) (Figure 1). About 46% of patients had CD and 50% UC. Diagnosis delay was longer in CD than in UC (5 vs. 2 months, p &lt; 0.01). The proportion of patients with symptoms at diagnosis was higher in UC than CD (94 vs. 89%, p &lt; 0.01). By contrast, those with CD vs. UC had higher frequency of family history of the disease (18 vs. 13%, p &lt; 0.01), tobacco smoking (38 vs. 12%, p &lt; 0.01) and extraintestinal manifestations (12 vs. 6%, p &lt; 0.01). At diagnosis, 18% of CD patients had structuring or fistulising behaviour, and 69% of UC patients had extensive colitis or left-sided colitis. During a median of 12-month of follow-up, 28% of patients were hospitalised (35% of CD and 22% of UC patients, p &lt; 0.01). A total of 2.6% CD patients progressed to a more severe phenotype, and 2% UC patients developed a more extensive involvement. The cumulative exposure to different treatments is shown in Figure 2. Conclusion The incidence of IBD in Spain is quite high and similar to that reported in Northern Europe. IBD patients require the use of substantial therapeutic resources, which are greater in CD than in UC, and much greater than previously reported. One third of patients are hospitalised in the first year after diagnosis and over 5% undergo surgery. These results highlight the high burden of IBD as well as some of the important challenges faced by clinicians and healthcare systems to manage this costly and complex disease.