Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 21, 2026; 32(27): 120681
Published online Jul 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.120681
Published online Jul 21, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.120681
Clinical characteristics and treatment patterns of older and younger patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Fatih Kivrakoglu, Department of Gastroenterology, Adana City Training and Research Hospital, Adana 01230, Türkiye
Vedat Kilic, Department of Gastroenterology, Balıkesir Atatürk City Hospital, Balıkesir 10100, Türkiye
Mustafa Ergin, Department of Gastroenterology, Aksaray Training and Research Hospital, Aksaray 68200, Türkiye
Harun Kucuk, Department of Gastroenterology, Mardin Training and Research Hospital, Mardin 47060, Türkiye
Cagdas Erdogan, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of İstinye, İstanbul 34010, Türkiye
Ilhami Yuksel, Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara 06800, Türkiye
Co-corresponding authors: Fatih Kivrakoglu and Ilhami Yuksel.
Author contributions: Kivrakoglu F and Kilic V designed the research study; Kivrakoglu F and Ergin M performed the research; Kilic V and Erdogan C analyzed the data; Kucuk H and Erdogan C reviewed the literature; Ergin M and Yuksel I supervised the study; Kivrakoglu F and Yuksel I wrote the manuscript and they contribute equally to this study as co-corresponding authors; and all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ankara Bilkent City Hospital (Approval No. E2-24-6116).
Informed consent statement: The requirement for written informed consent was waived because of the retrospective design of this study and the use of anonymized patient data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this study.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The data for this article are available within the article. Additional data can be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Fatih Kivrakoglu, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Adana City Training and Research Hospital, Dr. Mithat Ozsan Bulvari, Kisla Mah. No. 1, Adana 01230, Türkiye. dr.fkivrakoglu@gmail.com
Received: March 5, 2026
Revised: March 19, 2026
Accepted: April 10, 2026
Published online: July 21, 2026
Processing time: 131 Days and 13.9 Hours
Revised: March 19, 2026
Accepted: April 10, 2026
Published online: July 21, 2026
Processing time: 131 Days and 13.9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This retrospective cohort study highlights significant differences in the clinical presentation and management of patients with older-onset vs younger-onset inflammatory bowel disease. Our findings reveal that elderly patients present with fewer extraintestinal manifestations. Notably, older patients receive far fewer immunosuppressive and biological therapies than younger patients do, reflecting a conservative clinical approach likely driven by age-related safety concerns. These results emphasize the urgent clinical need for age-specific management guidelines to ensure that elderly patients receive adequate and safe therapies without compromising long-term outcomes.