Changes in biochemical, hematological parameters seen before IBD diagnosis

Changes in multiple biochemical and hematological parameters occur up to eight years before diagnosis of Crohn disease and up to three years before diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, according to a study published in the Nov. 21 issue of Cell Reports Medicine.

Marie Vibeke Vestergaard, from Aalborg University in Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues used measurements from 17 hematological and biochemical parameters taken up to 10 years before diagnosis in more than 20,000 inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and 4.6 million potential population-based controls to examine risk factor modification in the preclinical phase of disease. Results were considered up to 10 years before diagnosis of IBD.

The researchers identified widespread significant changes in biochemical and hematological parameters that occurred up to eight and three years before diagnosis of Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, respectively.

"These changes far exceed previous expectations regarding the length of this preclinical phase of disease and thereby provide important insights that will need to be considered if future treatment strategies aspire to disease prevention," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.