TOPLINE:

The likelihood of developing inflammatory arthritis among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) peaks in the 6 months before the diagnosis of IBD and then gradually decreases, according to findings from a retrospective, population-based cohort study.

METHODOLOGY:

• The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study with the Ontario Crohn’s and Colitis Cohort, which includes all patients with IBD identified from population-based health administrative data in Ontario, Canada.
• The authors tracked all individuals who were diagnosed with IBD between 2003 and 2019 from their index date until death or loss to follow-up for a diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, other seronegative spondyloarthropathies, or synovitis.
• They also identified all individuals with IBD who had at least one hospitalization or encounter in the emergency department for inflammatory arthritis or at least two physician billing claims (including at least one claim by a rheumatologist) with an inflammatory arthritis-related diagnosis code.

TAKEAWAY:

• Among 56,776 individuals with incident IBD, 20.8% had an inflammatory arthritis diagnosis, including 7.6% of those younger than 18 years, 76.8% of those aged 18-64 years, and 11.9% of those aged 65 years or older.
• Incidence of inflammatory arthritis peaked at 23.1 cases per 1000 person-years in the 6 months before IBD diagnosis and then gradually decreased.
• Those with Crohn’s disease (49%) were more likely than those with ulcerative colitis (47.2%) to have an inflammatory arthritis diagnosis at all times except in the 6 months before an IBD diagnosis.
• Incidence of inflammatory arthritis was always higher in women (57.7%) than in men and, in the 6 months before an IBD diagnosis, was highest in those younger than 18 years, at 41.2 cases per 1000 person-years.

IN PRACTICE:

The findings indicate “a need for integrated interprofessional care models to facilitate patient access to both gastroenterology and rheumatology care,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

Roberta Berard, MD, MSc, an associate professor of pediatrics at Western University and division director of pediatric rheumatology at the Children’s Hospital of London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario, Canada, presented the findings at the American College of Rheumatology’s Pediatric Rheumatology Symposium (PRSYM) 2026 in Minneapolis.

LIMITATIONS:

The findings may not be generalizable to populations outside Ontario.

DISCLOSURES:

Berard reported having disclosures with AbbVie, SUN, and Celltrion.