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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
A decade of inflammatory bowel disease: Insights from a tertiary referral center in Bulgaria
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1 Gastroenterology Clinic, “St. Marina” University Hospital, Varna,
Bulgaria
2 Second Internal Medicine Department, Medical University, Varna,
Bulgaria
3 Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University, Varna,
Bulgaria
EJMO, 026130142 https://doi.org/10.36922/EJMO026130142
Received: 26 March 2026 | Revised: 20 April 2026 | Accepted: 29 April 2026 | Published online: 19 May 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract
Introduction: In Bulgaria, the absence of comprehensive national data poses challenges for both clinicians and healthcare authorities.
Objectives: The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) over a 10‑year period at a leading university referral center serving the northeastern, north‑central, and southeastern regions of Bulgaria.
Methods: A total of 722 adult patients aged 18–75 years were included in the cohort. All patients were treated over a 10-year period at the Referral IBD Center of the Clinic of Gastroenterology, University Multiprofile Hospital for Active Treatment “St. Marina,” Varna, Bulgaria.
Results: In the northeastern region of Bulgaria, the mean annual crude incidence was 1.72 per 100,000 population, and the mean annual crude prevalence during 2013–2022 was 13.86 per 100,000. In the north-central region of Bulgaria, the mean annual crude incidence was estimated at 0.41 per 100,000 population, and the mean annual crude prevalence during 2013–2022 was 3.12 per 100,000 population. In the southeastern region of Bulgaria, the mean annual crude incidence was 0.15 per 100,000 population. During the 2013–2022 period, the annual prevalence in this region ranged from 0.95 to 1.90 per 100,000 population.
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate a consistent trend of increasing incidence of IBD, which is likely due both to a genuine rise in disease prevalence and to advancements in diagnostic technologies. This study provides valuable data on the epidemiology of IBD for the first time in Bulgaria.
Keywords
Inflammatory bowel disease
Incidence
Prevalence
Bulgaria
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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