Paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is as common in India as in western countries affecting almost 4-6 children in per lakh children due to their changing food habits, according to a study.
In IBD syndrome, a child's own immune system turns against his or her intestine, resulting in morbidity and long term treatment.
"Changing food habits in children from organic food to processed food is resulting in rise in IBD in children in India," said Dr Nishant Wadhwa, co-author of the study and Paediatric Gastroenterologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
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"This study has for the first time outlined the baseline profile in paediatric population with IBD from India and has shown that 2/3rd (60.5 per cent) of the children in this series were suffering from growth failure," said the doctor.
"The rising prevalence of P-IBD in India is a result of changing life style and food habits in children. These changing food habits have resulted in altered immune mechanism in children. This a serious illness with implications on the growth of the child. Because of the intestinal inflammation, these children fail to grow properly and are nutritionally challenged," said Dr Wadhwa.
In India, Wadhwa said, this disease was identified among children in late 80's and one of the factors which could be attributed to the rise has been the changing food habits in children.
"The eating habits of children have changed from organic to processed foods which is resulting in altered bacterial flora in gastro-intestinal system which further results in child's own immune mechanism causing inflammation in their own instestine.
"The adulteration of food, combined with increased processing of these foods affects the quality of the food that these children are eating now a days. Health and well balanced diet which are rich in nutrients could go a long way in promoting the health of Indian children," Dr Wadhwa explained.
The study was conducted in 7 centres across India on 221 children suffering from IBD. The results of the study has been recently published in January 2015 edition of Indian Journal of Gastroenterology. Two centres from north-India (including Sir Ganga Ram Hospital), 4 centres from southern India and 1 centre from central India participated in this study.
