The Association between Adiposity and Crohn's Disease

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  The Association between Adiposity and the Presentation and Clinical Course of Crohn’s disease

• IRAS ID

  163996

• Contact name

  Elizabeth A Arthurs

• Contact email

  Elizabeth.Arthurs2@UHBristol.nhs.uk

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 9 months, 21 days

• Research summary

  Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal condition, with an increasing incidence. (Cosnes et al 2011). Obesity is a growing problem worldwide (WHO May 2008), and is considered to represent a chronic state of low grade inflammation (Cottam et al 2006). People with CD are traditionally perceived as being underweight (Forbes 2002), but a number of studies have observed a increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in people with CD (Long et al 2011, Steed et al 2009). There is limited available data, but obese people with CD have been observed to have more severe disease course (Blain et al 2002, Nascimento et al 2012,Hass et al 2005). Rising body mass index (BMI) has been associated with loss of response to anti-TNFa medication (Bhalme et al 2013, Bultman et al 2012), and non-weight-adjusted anti-TNFa medications may be less effective in those with a high BMI (Bultman et al 2012).
  
  We would like to investigate whether overweight/obese people with CD present later to hospital services, have a more severe disease course and a worse response to medication. This study is a historical clinical cohort study on people with CD from our NHS hospital outpatients department. We will review hospital case notes and create a database collecting baseline characteristics and information about disease, disease extent and treatment. The aim is to identify whether people who are obese suffer delays in treatment, a more severe or resistant disease or respond differently to different treatments. This will arm experience us to risk stratify people earlier, and develop more individually tailored treatment plans. People will not be directly contacted in this research, we will only be reviewing hospital records and collecting data that will be non-identifiable. No funding is required for this study.

• REC name

  South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  15/SW/0003

• Date of REC Opinion

  6 Mar 2015

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion