Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Epidemiology

Key Highlights

• Ulcerative colitis is a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), alongside Crohn’s disease. While Crohn’s can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, UC is limited to the colon. Ulcerative colitis is idiopathic, meaning its exact cause is unknown, and it primarily affects the lining of the colon, causing symptoms such as bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss, and anemia.
• Symptom severity varies—moderate cases involve 4–6 bloody stools per day, while severe cases involve 6–10 or more. Patients often experience symptom flare-ups followed by periods of remission.
• Diagnosis is based on a combination of medical history, clinical evaluation, and tests including colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, biopsies, blood and stool tests, and imaging (CT, MRI, X-rays), as no single test can confirm the condition.
• In 2024, there were approximately 3,200,000 diagnosed prevalent cases of ulcerative colitis across the 7MM, driven by improved disease recognition, enhanced diagnostic capabilities, and a growing patient population in key regions.
• Ulcerative colitis is most commonly diagnosed in late adolescence or early adulthood, but it can occur at any age. It has been observed that the highest number of ulcerative colitis affected people was found in 18-44 years of age group (~60%), while only ~3% of ulcerative colitis patients belong to pediatric age group.
• In 2024, the United States accounted for about 46% of the total cases across the 7MM, underscoring the country’s substantial share of the overall disease burden.
• Current trends underscore a significant unmet need and substantial market potential for more effective, targeted therapies—particularly those addressing moderate to severe cases, younger adult populations, and long-term disease management in a growing patient base, especially in high-burden regions like the US.

DelveInsight’s “Ulcerative colitis – Epidemiology Forecast – 2034” report delivers an in-depth understanding of Ulcerative colitis, historical and forecasted epidemiology in the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan.

The table given below further depicts the key segments provided in the report:

Ulcerative colitis: Disease Understanding

Ulcerative colitis Overview, and Diagnosis

Ulcerative colitis is a lifelong chronic illness that can affect different parts of the colon and rectum. It generally begins in the rectum and spreads to the colon. The colon removes nutrients from undigested food and eliminates waste products through the rectum and anus as feces. Ulcerative colitis may also produce inflammation and bleeding ulcers within the inner lining of your large intestine. In severe cases, ulcers form on the lining of the colon. These ulcers may bleed, which produces pus and mucus. A patient suffering from ulcerative colitis, may feel discomfort and pain in the abdomen that may be mild and reoccurring over a long period of time, or severe and appearing suddenly.

Symptoms vary in severity and between individuals, often including bloody diarrhea with mucus, abdominal cramping, and urgency to defecate. Severe cases may present with high fever, abdominal pain, and signs of systemic inflammation. Fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, and anemia are common, often resulting from blood loss or poor nutrient absorption. Extra-intestinal symptoms—more frequently seen in children—can include joint pain, skin rashes, eye inflammation, liver issues, and kidney stones. The disease’s unpredictable nature makes treatment evaluation and long-term management challenging.

Ulcerative colitis diagnosis and monitoring involve a combination of lab tests, endoscopic evaluations, and imaging procedures. Blood tests such as full blood count (FBC), inflammatory markers (e.g., CRP), liver function tests (LFT), and urea and electrolytes (U&E) assess overall health, inflammation, liver and kidney function, and potential complications like anemia or dehydration. Additional tests may measure calcium, phosphate, magnesium, and trace elements, especially in patients with chronic symptoms or on long-term nutritional support. Stool tests help detect inflammation or infections. Endoscopic procedures, including sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy, allow direct visualization of bowel inflammation and tissue biopsy for diagnosis. Imaging techniques like plain radiographs and fluoroscopy can reveal structural changes in the colon, such as wall thickening, ulceration, or toxic megacolon. Advanced imaging, including CT and MRI, offers detailed assessment of bowel wall abnormalities, disease extent, and extra-intestinal complications, with MRI showing promise as a noninvasive tool for evaluating active inflammation and disease severity.

Ulcerative Colitis Epidemiology

The Ulcerative Colitis epidemiology chapter in the report provides historical as well as forecasted epidemiology segmented by Total Diagnosed Prevalent Cases of Ulcerative Colitis, Age-specific Cases of Ulcerative Colitis, Severity-specific Cases of Ulcerative colitis by line of therapies in the 7MM covering the United States, EU4 countries (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain), United Kingdom, and Japan from 2020 to 2034.

• In the United States, the total diagnosed prevalent cases of ulcerative colitis were approximately 1,500,000 in 2024.
• In 2024, ulcerative colitis was most prevalent among US adults aged 18–44, with around 930,000 cases—far exceeding other age groups. The 45–64 group followed with 400,000 cases, while significantly fewer were seen in older adults. The 85+ group had the fewest cases at 15,000.
• Active ulcerative colitis is usually classified into mild, moderate, and severe according to the recommendation by the international guideline. Approximately ~60% of cases of ulcerative colitis belong to the moderate-to-severe category, whereas ~40% of cases are mild.
• In 2024, the total severity-specific cases of ulcerative colitis in the EU4 and the UK were around 540,000 cases classified as mild and around 890,000 cases classified as moderate-to-severe respectively.
• In 2024, Japan accounted for around 330,000 total diagnosed prevalent cases of ulcerative colitis, in which 130,000 cases are mild ulcerative colitis and around 220,000 cases are of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis.

KOL Views

To gaze into the epidemiology insights of the real world, we take KOLs and SMEs’ opinions working in the domain through primary research to fill the data gaps and validate our secondary research on disease prevalence.

DelveInsight’s analysts connected with 10+ KOLs to gather insights; however, interviews were conducted with 5+ KOLs in the 7MM. Centers such as the American Social Health Association, US; Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, US; Institute for Medical Virology, Germany; Centre Médicale de l'Institut Pasteur, France; University of Genova, Italy; University of Barcelona, Spain; Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan; and others were contacted. Their opinion helps understand and validate current disease prevalence, gender involved with the disease, diagnosis rate, and diagnostic criteria.

Scope of the Report

• The report covers a segment of key events, an executive summary, and a descriptive overview of Ulcerative colitis, explaining its causes, signs and symptoms, pathogenesis, and current diagnosis methods.
• Comprehensive insight into the epidemiology segments and forecasts, the future growth potential of diagnosis rate, and disease progression have been provided.
• A detailed review of current challenges in establishing diagnosis and diagnosis rate is provided.

Ulcerative colitis Report Insights

• Patient Population
• Country-wise Epidemiology Distribution

Ulcerative colitis Report Key Strengths

• Ten-year Forecast
• The 7MM Coverage
• Ulcerative colitis Epidemiology Segmentation

Ulcerative colitis Report Assessment

• Epidemiology Segmentation
• Current Diagnostic Practices

FAQs

Epidemiology Insights

• What are the disease risks, burdens, and unmet needs of Ulcerative colitis? What will be the growth opportunities across the 7MM concerning the patient population pertaining to Ulcerative colitis?
• What is the historical and forecasted Ulcerative colitis patient pool in the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan?
• What is the diagnostic pattern of Ulcerative colitis?
• Which clinical factors will affect Ulcerative colitis?
• Which factors will affect the increase in the diagnosis of Ulcerative colitis?

Reasons to buy

• Insights on disease burden, details regarding diagnosis, and factors contributing to the change in the epidemiology of the disease during the forecast years.
• To understand the change in Ulcerative colitis cases in varying geographies over the coming years.
• A detailed overview of total prevalent cases, total diagnosed prevalent cases, age-specific cases, severity-specific cases, and gender-specific cases is included.
• To understand the perspective of key opinion leaders around the current challenges with establishing the diagnosis and insights on the treatment-eligible patient pool.
• Detailed insights on various factors hampering disease diagnosis and other existing diagnostic challenges.