Study Findings from Michigan Medicine Provide New Insights into Crohn’s Disease (Trends of 5-aminosalicylate Medication Use In Patients With Crohn Disease): Digestive System Diseases and Conditions – Crohn’s Disease

2022 APR 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Gastroenterology Daily News -- Researchers detail new data in Digestive System Diseases and Conditions - Crohn’s Disease. According to news reporting originating in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Background 5-aminosalicylate (5-ASA) medications have a long history of use for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and continue to be widely prescribed today. The effectiveness of 5-ASAs in ulcerative colitis is clear; however, studies have shown little benefit for induction or maintenance treatment of Crohn disease (CD).”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Michigan Medicine, “We aimed to quantify usage and examine trends in 5-ASA prescription rates in patients with CD. Using a retrospective design, we queried a national database of commercially insured patients (Truven-Health databases) between 2009 and 2014 to identify patients with CD aged 18 to 65 years. Prescription rates for 5-ASA medications including sulfasalazine, mesalamine, olsalazine, and balsalazide were calculated for each calendar year. Regression models were used to examine year-to-year trends in prescription rates and identify patient factors associated with 5-ASA use. We identified 132,804 patients with CD, of whom 37.3% (n = 49,529) received a 5-ASA prescription during the study period. From 2009 to 2014, the overall prescription rates of 5-ASAs declined from 42.9% to 30.0% (P < 0.001). Patient factors independently associated with 5-ASA use included younger age, male sex, multimorbidity, and a health maintenance organization insurance plan, while controlling for the region of residence. About 1 in 3 privately insured patients with CD received 5-ASA prescriptions despite their questionable effectiveness; however, in an encouraging trend, prescription rates significantly decreased from 2009 to 2014.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “This high prescription rate may reflect a gap in providers’ knowledge regarding the available evidence-an opportunity for cost savings with improved health care delivery.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Trends of 5-aminosalicylate Medication Use In Patients With Crohn Disease. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 2021;27(4):516-521. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases can be contacted at: Oxford Univ Press Inc, Journals Dept, 2001 Evans Rd, Cary, NC 27513, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - http://www.wiley.com/; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1536-4844)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Akbar K. Waljee, Michigan Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Dept. of Internal Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, United States. Additional authors for this research include Mohamed Noureldin, Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, Ryan Stidham, Peter D. R. Higgins, Asadullah Mahmood, Shail Govani and Amar R. Deshpande.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izaa127. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)