An international conference on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) will be held in the city on September 30 and October 1. Addressing a press meet on Tuesday, organising chairman of the conference K.R. Palaniswamy said there was very little awareness about the disease, but that cases were on the rise, especially among the young. He said there were two main types of IBD — ulcerative colitis — which involves inflammation of the large intestine, and Crohn’s disease — which can affect any part of the digestive tract but mostly affects the tail end of the small intestine.
Dr. Palaniswamy said that IBD was a lifelong problem that required long-term treatment. Stress and bad dietary habits are among the triggers for IBD. The disease also has a genetic component. Symptoms include diarrhoea, bleeding ulcers causing blood to show up in the stool, stomach pain, cramping and bloating, weight loss and anaemia.
Organising secretary of the conference V. Balasubramanian said that while ulcerative colitis was more common in men, Crohn’s disease was more common in women. He stressed the need for awareness among the public and medical professionals. While there are no figures on the incidence of Crohn’s disease, the incidence of ulceritis colitis is 6%, the doctors said.
Seven international experts and 300 doctors from across the country are expected to attend the conference.