Support for bowel disease sufferers

A patients' association launched yesterday is set to start offering support to the 1,600-odd people known to suffer from inflammatory bowel disease in Malta.

Although the number of patients being treated for either Crohn's disease or colitis stands at about 1,600, gastroenterologist Pierre Ellul believes there may be many more.

"It is imperative people are diagnosed so they can start treatment as soon as possible," Dr Ellul, who is also on the scientific committee of the newly-formed Malta Association of Crohn's and Colitis, said.

He said medicines, which are government-funded, could control the condition and help patients lead a normal life but patients risked malnutrition if they were not treated.

The association's aims are to offer support to sufferers and their relatives to help them improve their quality of life and promote public awareness. It intends to promote patients' rights and encourage research. The symptoms of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis - two forms of chronic non-infectious inflammatory bowel disease that can affect people of all ages - tend to resemble a bad bout of gastric flu, which keeps recurring unexpectedly and leads to pain, urgent diarrhoea, rectal bleeding, anaemia, weight loss and loss of appetite.

Josef Busuttil thought he was suffering from gastric flu 10 years ago when he started experiencing cramps that left him breathless and bent double. Even doctors initially thought he had gastric flu but within a year he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease.

"I had never heard of it before," he said.

The 41-year-old father of two, who leads a very hectic life, said he had been fortunate not to have to change his lifestyle, although he watches his diet. "I am very careful when it comes to fast food and even avoid some fruit and vegetables that can make me ill," he said.

Mr Busuttil admitted the condition could lead to discomfort and even embarrassment for those who had to make a dash for the bathroom and not everyone understood their needs. But he has embraced his condition: "If I need to go to the bathroom, even during an important meeting, I excuse myself and go."

The condition is on the increase in developed countries, even among children, who might find it all the more embarrassing to have to go to the bathroom regularly.

"One of the biggest objectives of the association is to inform people about the condition," Mr Busuttil said.

Inflammatory bowel disease affects more than one million people in Europe. A study carried out by researchers Elaine Cachia, Neville Calleja, Rachel Aakeroy, James Degaetano and Mario Vassallo, published in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Journal in 2008, found the incidence of ulcerative colitis among men to be 8.16 per 100,000 and 7.59 per 100,000 in women every year. When it comes to Crohn's disease, the incidence is 0.96 in men and 1.62 in women.

Inflammatory bowel disease is more common in developed countries. Dr Ellul said the reason could lie in the genetic link of the disease and the fact that it was better diagnosed in the developed world.

For information e-mail info@macc.org.mt.

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