A Danish study found that individuals with a higher genetic predisposition to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were more likely to experience a more severe disease course, a finding that may help inform future research into risk stratification and treatment selection.
Published in Gastroenterology, the research was conducted by the DNRF Centre of Excellence PREDICT at Aalborg University and drew on national registry data, clinical records, and biobank material from approximately 8,300 people with chronic IBD in Denmark.
IBD, which includes conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affects around 60,000 people in Denmark alone. Disease progression varies considerably between individuals: some experience mild, manageable symptoms, while others face a debilitating course requiring surgery. Currently, clinicians have limited tools at diagnosis to reliably predict which trajectory a patient is likely to follow, increasing the risk of both under- and over-treatment.
The study found a correlation between polygenic risk scores, measures of cumulative genetic susceptibility, and disease severity over time. Those with higher genetic risk scores were more likely to experience a more severe course. The findings build on prior work by the same group identifying a specific gene variant associated with increased likelihood of major surgery in ulcerative colitis patients.
The authors caution that genetics is only one of several factors influencing disease development and severity. Further research is planned to identify additional biological markers and to determine which treatment strategies may be most appropriate for different patient subgroups. Clinical application would require validation in broader and more diverse populations.
Published in: News Medical and Gastroenterology
