Clinical characteristics and phenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease in Northern Central America: initial results from the Northern Central America Inflammatory Bowel Disease Registry.

@article{montalvansanchez2026clinical,
  title = {{Clinical characteristics and phenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease in Northern Central America: initial results from the Northern Central America Inflammatory Bowel Disease Registry.}},
  author = {Eleazar E Montalvan-Sanchez and Michael Dougherty and Dalton Norwood and Aida Rodriguez-Murillo and Kathya Jimenez and Daniela M Montalvan-Sanchez and Luis A Najera and Blanca A Avalos-Quijano and Oscar G Avelar-Escobar and Marco A Calix-Cerrato and Gustavo A Ramos-Aguilar and Daniel Guifarro and Jeffrey Freidenson and Candida Leiva and Douglas Morgan and Deborah Proctor and Alexander N Levy},
  journal = {Crohn's \& colitis 360},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1093/crocol/otag106},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953891},
  note = {CC BY},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Clinical characteristics and phenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease in Northern Central America: initial results from the Northern Central America Inflammatory Bowel Disease Registry.
AU  - Eleazar E Montalvan-Sanchez
AU  - Michael Dougherty
AU  - Dalton Norwood
AU  - Aida Rodriguez-Murillo
AU  - Kathya Jimenez
AU  - Daniela M Montalvan-Sanchez
AU  - Luis A Najera
AU  - Blanca A Avalos-Quijano
AU  - Oscar G Avelar-Escobar
AU  - Marco A Calix-Cerrato
AU  - Gustavo A Ramos-Aguilar
AU  - Daniel Guifarro
AU  - Jeffrey Freidenson
AU  - Candida Leiva
AU  - Douglas Morgan
AU  - Deborah Proctor
AU  - Alexander N Levy
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/21
JO  - Crohn's & colitis 360
DO  - 10.1093/crocol/otag106
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953891
AB  - Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), and IBD unclassified (IBDU), affects over 7 million people worldwide. While incidence has plateaued in higher-income countries, it continues to rise in lower- and middle-income regions, including Latin America. Data from northern Central America remain scarce. To characterize the clinical and phenotypic profile of IBD in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Northern Central America Research and Epidemiological Study (IBD-NCARES) was a multinational, multicenter descriptive study spanning 15 years. Cases were identified using ICD-10 codes and confirmed by chart review. Sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical variables were collected. Among 277 patients, UC was the predominant subtype (57.8%), highest in Honduras (71.4%). CD accounted for 11.9% of cases, with greater frequency in Honduras (25.7%). IBDU was frequent in El Salvador (40.3%) and Guatemala (38.2%) compared with Honduras (2.9%). Delayed diagnosis (>1 year) occurred in 35% of UC and 60.6% of CD patients. Complicated CD was observed in 54.5% (B2 30.3%; B3 24.2%). Extraintestinal manifestations included vascular (18.2%) and hepatic/pancreatic (9.1%) complications. Most patients received 5-aminosalicylates or systemic steroids. Only 5.1% of the overall cohort received advanced therapies. This first multinational study of IBD in northern Central America highlights UC predominance, high rates of IBDU (likely inflated by incomplete diagnostics), frequent diagnostic delay, and limited use of advanced therapies. These findings underscore the need for regional registries, improved diagnostic capacity, and expanded therapeutic resources.
SN  - 2631-827X
ER  -