deBruyn, JenniferKaplan, GilaadJeong, Jocelyn2021-06-282021-06-282021-06-18Jeong, J. (2021). Ethnic Variations of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Within Canada (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113546Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract with highest prevalence in the Western world. Up to twenty-five percent of those who develop IBD are diagnosed in their childhood or adolescent years. Recent temporal trends in adult and pediatric populations demonstrate increasing incidence in both developed and developing countries. IBD phenotypes may differ between countries and ethnic/racial groups. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to examine ethnic and phenotypic variation of children newly diagnosed with IBD in Canada. An analysis of all newly diagnosed pediatric IBD patients enrolled in the multicenter national prospective Canadian Children IBD Network (CIDsCaNN) inception cohort was conducted. Children were categorized into eight different ethnic groups using a modified Statistics Canada classification method. Baseline data such as demographic characteristics, disease phenotype and activity, family history of IBD, surgeries, and hospitalizations were compared between Caucasians and different ethnic groups. Our study demonstrated important differences between Caucasian and non-Caucasian children with IBD in Canada in specific phenotypes of IBD, time to diagnosis, disease location and behavior, family history of IBD, and immigrant status. South Asians had higher odds of ulcerative colitis (UC) compared to Caucasians. Caucasians with UC had a significantly longer time to diagnosis compared to non-Caucasians. Non-Caucasians with UC had a significant inverse correlation with shorter time to diagnosis in higher pediatric ulcerative colitis activity index (PUCAI) scores, whereas there was no significant correlation found for Caucasians. Caucasians had higher odds of having a first-degree family member with IBD compared to non-Caucasians. Caucasians had lower odds of being a First- or Second-Generation Immigrant compared to Non-Caucasians. This thesis aims to explore the ethnic and phenotypic variation of children newly diagnosed with IBD in Canada. Some of the findings in this thesis are supported by the existing literature and some differ; differences may be due to the small sample size of specific ethnic groups in this study. Further studies are required to explore the differences in phenotypes between different ethnic groups as well as to understand differences in treatment responses with a goal of moving towards personalized medicine in IBD.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Inflammatory Bowel DiseasePediatricsEthnicityEpidemiologyMedicine and Surgerymaster thesishttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/38951