Increasing incidence of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease in Ontario, Canada: evidence from health administrative data

Abstract

Objective: Health administrative databases can be used to track chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to validate a case ascertainment definition of paediatric-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using administrative data and describe its epidemiology in Ontario, Canada. Methods: A population-based clinical database of patients with IBD aged Results: Accurate identification of children with IBD required four physician contacts or two hospitalisations (with International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes for IBD) within 3 years if they underwent colonoscopy and seven contacts or three hospitalisations within 3 years in those without colonoscopy (children 99.9%; children 99.9%; children Conclusion: Ontario has one of the highest rates of childhood-onset IBD in the world, and there is an accelerated increase in incidence in younger children.