Unmet needs in adult patients with ulcerative colitis in Spain: a real-world Adelphi Disease Specific Programme study

Autores de IIS La Fe

• 

  Pilar Nos Mateu

  Autor

Participantes ajenos a IIS La Fe

• Marin-Jiménez, I
• Aguirregabiria, I
• Díaz-Cerezo, S
• Moyano, S
• Gabilondo, H
• Knight, H
• Harvey, N
• Gibble, TH

Grupos

• Enfermedad Inflamatoria Intestinal

Abstract

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by chronic inflammation of the colonic mucosal lining. Objectives: This study aimed to examine unmet needs among patients with UC in Spain. Design: Data were analyzed from the Adelphi Real World IBD Disease Specific Programme (TM), a cross-sectional survey of physicians and patients with IBD in Spain between October 2020 and March 2021. Methods: Physicians reported patient clinical characteristics, disease severity, treatment patterns and satisfaction, symptoms, and flare and remission status. Patients were then invited to voluntarily self-complete a form reporting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity/activity impairment. Analyses were descriptive. Results: Overall, 57 physicians reported data for 410 patients with UC presenting a high disease severity profile. The mean (standard deviation) patient age was 45 (15) years, with 88% presenting with moderate-to-severe UC at diagnosis. In the survey, 75% and 63% of patients were treated with conventional therapy and biologics, respectively. After treatment initiation, patients had lower disease severity, but 29% of patients had moderate-to-severe disease despite receiving biologics or Janus kinase inhibitors. Overall, 81% of patients and 86% of physicians were satisfied with treatment. Among patients classified as having moderate-to-severe UC, commonly reported symptoms included abdominal pain (41%), bowel urgency (37%), and bloody diarrhea (37%). The mean number of flares experienced in the past year was 1.7, lasting on average >30 days. Consequently, the HRQoL of these patients was impaired. Conclusion: While disease severity appeared to be lower after the initiation of current treatment, and despite the high prevalence of treatment satisfaction, almost a third of patients remained classified as moderate-to-severe, experiencing symptoms, flares, and impaired HRQoL. Therefore, there is a need for new therapeutic alternatives to target patient unmet needs.

© The Author(s), 2025.

Keywords

• disease activity; disease severity; health-related quality of life; treatment patterns; ulcerative colitis