Abstract Background The incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are rising worldwide. The 2010 European inception cohort study demonstrated a gradient (2:1) between Western and Eastern European countries. At that time, the incidence of IBD in the Kaunas region of Lithuania was 8.5 per 100,000 population (6.1 for UC and 2.4 for CD). Recent data from Central and Eastern Europe remain limited, although clinical practice suggests a possible increase in IBD burden. This study aimed to describe contemporary epidemiological trends of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) in Lithuania using national administrative datasets. Methods A retrospective, population-based study was conducted using anonymized data from the Lithuanian State Data Reuse Platform for 2020–2024. All residents with at least one recorded UC or CD diagnosis were included. Incident cases were identified by the first disease entry following a three-year lookback period. Annual crude incidence and prevalence rates per 100,000 population were calculated. Trends in hospitalizations and pharmacological treatment were analyzed descriptively. Results In total, 5601 UC and 1500 CD cases were identified. The mean annual UC incidence was 20.2 per 100,000 (17.5, 19.9, 22.8, 21.9, and 20.2 for 2020–2024, respectively), and the mean annual prevalence was 131.2 per 100,000. For CD, the mean annual incidence was 6.4 (5.3, 5.9, 7.4, 6.5, 7.0 for 2020–2024, respectively), and the mean annual prevalence was 31.8 per 100,000. The mean age at diagnosis was 42 years (SD 18.6) for UC and 38 years (SD 19.9) for CD. Mean annual hospitalization rates were 10.6% for UC and 17.8% for CD, remaining stable throughout 2020–2024. The use of advanced therapies among UC patients increased from 4% in 2020 to 11% in 2024, and among CD patients from 19% to 26% over the same period. Conclusion Our data show significantly higher IBD incidence and prevalence rates in Lithuania compared to those reported in 2007–2010. The use of advanced therapies continued to rise, whereas hospitalization rates remained stable. References: 1. Kiudelis G, Kupcinskas J, Jonaitis L, et al. Incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in the Kaunas region, Lithuania. Medicina (Kaunas). 2012;48(8):431-435. PMID: 23128464 2. Burisch J, Pedersen N, Čuković-Čavka S, et al; ECCO-EpiCom Group. East-West gradient in the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in Europe: the ECCO-EpiCom inception cohort. Gut. 2014;63(4):588-597. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2013-304636. PMID: 23604131. Conflict of interest: Kiudelis, Vytautas: Fnancial support for travelling and educational activities: AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer, Ferring, Dr. Falk Pharma, MSD. Speaker fees: AbbVie, Ferring, Dr. Falk Pharma. Jurjonas, Nidas: No conflict of interest Kupčinskas, Limas: No conflict of interest Skieceviciene, Jurgita: No conflict of interest Kupčinskas, Juozas: Speaker fees: Takeda, Janssen, Ferring, Abbvie, Falk, Pfizer Consultancy fees: COSMO pharma Kiudelis, Gediminas: No conflict of interest
Kiudelis et al. (2026) studied this question.