Epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease in racial and ethnic migrant groups

AIM: To summarise the current literature and define patterns of disease in migrant and racial groups. METHODS: A structured key word search in Ovid Medline and EMBASE was undertaken in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Studies on incidence, prevalence and disease phenotype of migrants and races compared with indigenous groups were eligible for inclusion. RESULTS: Thirty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Individual studies showed significant differences in incidence, prevalence and disease phenotype between migrants or race and indigenous groups. Pooled analysis could only be undertaken for incidence studies on South Asians where there was significant heterogeneity between the studies [95% for ulcerative colitis (UC), 83% for Crohn's disease (CD)]. The difference between incidence rates was not significant with a rate ratio…