Estimated incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in Argentina and Panama (1987-1993)

AIM: to estimate the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in two a reas from Panama and Argentina. METHOD: during a 7-year period from 1987 to 1993 we surveyed IBD in two wel l-defined communities from Panama (District of Colon) and Argentina (Partid o General Pueyrredon). The mean annual incidence of IBD was estimated from hospital-based registries. Records from the General Records Department and the endoscopy, radiology and pathology services were reviewed at the Hospit al MA Guerrero in Colon and at two other hospitals in Partido General Pueyr redon to identify suspected cases of IBD. Cases were confirmed using standa rd criteria, and disease incidence rates were calculated by dividing the nu mber of cases in which a positive diagnosis could be established by the pop ulation served by each hospital. RESULTS: mean annual incidence of ulcerative colitis in Panama was 1.2/100 000 inhabitants/year, and no cases of Crohn's disease (CD) could be diagnos ed. Mean annual incidence of IBD in Partido General Pueyrredon was 2.2/100 000 inhabitants/year, with only a single case of CD being identified. We ar gue that such figures could represent a good estimate of the incidence of I BD in each area, given the wide coverage of the population by the hospitals surveyed in each region. CONCLUSION: according to these results, the incidence rates of IBD seem to be much lower than those published for other "Hispanic" communities outside Latin America. Factors such as population structure, environment or geneti c determinants might account for these differences.