Epidemiology of inflammatory bowel diseases from west to east

<jats:p>The incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">IBD</jats:styled-content>) show considerable variation over time and across geographical regions. The first studies on the epidemiology of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">IBD</jats:styled-content> were mainly from traditionally high‐incidence areas, such as <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">N</jats:styled-content>orth <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">A</jats:styled-content>merica, and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">n</jats:styled-content>orthern and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">w</jats:styled-content>estern <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">E</jats:styled-content>urope. In the last two decades, more and more studies have been published from <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">E</jats:styled-content>astern <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">E</jats:styled-content>uropean and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">A</jats:styled-content>sian countries with increasing incidence rates from some regions. According to recent studies, the high incidence and prevalence of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">IBD</jats:styled-content> in some Western countries is plateauing and in some <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">E</jats:styled-content>astern countries increasing incidences have been reported. In the era of new multicenter epidemiological studies with common methodology the direct comparison of incidences and prevalences has became possible. In the present review we summarized the currently available literatures on <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">w</jats:styled-content>est–east differences in the incidences and prevalences of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">IBD</jats:styled-content>.</jats:p>