The number of Hongkongers suffering from incurable chronic gut conditions could surge by 150 per cent over a 20-year period due to unhealthy diets, high in sugar and fat, according to a global study.
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Scientists from the study that was co-led by researchers from Hong Kong and Canada raised the alarm after a projection model estimated that the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in the city would rise from 40 cases per 100,000 people in 2014 to 100 in 2034.
“The 150 per cent increase in the total number in terms of prevalence – this is quite scary,” said Professor Ng Siew Chien, associate dean of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s medical school and an expert in gastroenterology who co-led the study.
“We call this probably an explosion.”
Researchers found that the rates were related to economic development and that less developed places, such as Malaysia and mainland China, had lower rates than Hong Kong, although they were also trending upwards.
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IBD refers to a group of conditions that cause swelling and inflammation of tissue in the digestive tract, with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis being the two most common types.