Gut Liver.  2022 Nov;16(6):995-1000. 10.5009/gnl220350.

Clinical Characteristics of Korean Patients with Elderly-Onset Crohn’s Disease: Results from the Prospective CONNECT Study

• Kim YS
• Na MJ
• Ye BD
• Cheon JH
• Im JP
• Kim JS
• The CONNECT Study Group

• KMID: 2535202
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5009/gnl220350

Abstract

The clinical course and prognosis of patients with elderly-onset Crohn’s disease (CD) remain unclear. This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics and outcomes of elderly-onset CD patients from the prospective CONNECT study cohort, a nationwide, multicenter cohort study of patients with CD in Korea. Among a total of 1,175 patients in the prospective CONNECT study cohort, 94 patients (Montreal age A3) were included and divided into two groups according to their age at diagnosis: the elderly-onset group (diagnosed with CD after 60 years of age, n=26, 67.54±6.7 years) and late adult-onset group (diagnosed as CD at age 41 to 59 years, n=68, 48.06±5.1 years). The elderly-onset group was characterized by a lower Crohn’s disease activity index at diagnosis (124.89±101.9 vs 189.55±128.6, p=0.023) and higher rates of previous antituberculosis treatment (34.6% vs 4.4%, p<0.001) than the late adult-onset group. Compared with the late adult-onset group, the elderly-onset group showed a significantly less use of thiopurines (p=0.003), as well as anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha agents (p=0.047). Additionally, the elderlyonset group was less likely to require bowel resection than the late adult-onset group (p=0.067), suggesting that elderly-onset CD patients in Korea appear to have more favorable clinical outcomes than late adult-onset CD patients.

Keyword

Cohort studies; Crohn disease; Elderly-onset; Prognosis