Inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella term used to describe Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Both diseases are correlated but show distinct clinical aspects. Epidemiological studies were conducted in order to describe the knowledge production in intestinal inflammatory disease taking into consideration the registered of hospital internments in the east of Minas Gerais State. Since inflammatory bowel disease generates repercussions in the social, psychological and professional ambits, they are considered one of the great problems of the modern population. From 1998 to 2005, 363 internments caused by inflammatory bowel diseases were registered, distributed in 184 and 179 cases in the masculine and feminine gender, respectively. The poorly studies and the number of hospital internments in the East of the Minas Gerais State suggested that researches should be driven in order to delineate the profile of the patients with inflammatory bowel diseases as well as to detect the psychological and physical alterations in order to achieve holistic, multidisciplinary and humanized care.
Inflammatory bowel diseases; Biological factors; Epidemiology
