Crohn's & Colitis UK and Coeliac UK Fund Epidemiology Research

Crohn's & Colitis UK and Coeliac UK have funded new research into the rates of IBD and coeliac disease in the UK. Learn more about the project.

University of Bristol and University of Sheffield: Exploring trends in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and coeliac disease across the UK.

Project Title: Incidence and prevalence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and coeliac disease: an updated national population-based study.

Principal Investigators: Dr Mohamed Shiha and Dr Martha Elwenspoek.

Institution/s: University of Bristol and University of Sheffield.

Grant awarded: £106.5k.

Project start: July 2026.

Project duration: 16 months.

Dr Mohamed Shiha is an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Gastroenterology at the University of Sheffield and a Gastroenterology Specialist Registrar. His research focuses on coeliac disease, gastrointestinal endoscopy and evidence synthesis. Dr Shiha is the first gastroenterologist to receive the Apothecaries’ Prize in honour of his research related to diagnosing coeliac disease.

Dr Martha Elwenspoek is a Senior Research Fellow, carrying out applied healthcare research at the University of Bristol. She has a particular interest in coeliac disease and how medical tests can be used for diagnosing or monitoring disease. Dr Elwenspoek has expertise in evidence synthesis including routinely analysing health care data sets.

What is the aim of this project?

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and coeliac disease are lifelong conditions that affect the gut.  Diagnoses of both are increasing, but it is unclear whether this reflects a true rise in the number of people affected or improvements in diagnosis. Despite this, many people still experience long delays before receiving the correct diagnosis. Understanding how many people are affected, how diagnosis rates vary across different population groups, and where opportunities for earlier diagnosis may exist is essential to improving diagnosis and care.

In 2019, Crohn’s & Colitis UK and Coeliac UK and jointly funded a research project to provide information on the diagnosis of IBD and coeliac disease. Since then, patterns of diagnosis and healthcare have continued to evolve, making it important to update this information. Therefore, the two charities are once again working together to fund a new project led by Dr Mohamed Shiha and Dr Martha Elwenspoek to provide up-to-date reports on IBD, coeliac disease, and related conditions across the UK.

Using anonymous NHS GP and hospital health records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), the researchers will investigate:

• How many people are living with IBD (Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Microscopic Colitis, IBD indeterminate) and coeliac disease, dermatitis herpetiformis and gluten ataxia
• How many people are newly diagnosed with each condition each year
• Whether diagnosis rates differ by age, sex, ethnicity or deprivation index
• Whether people had previous diagnoses or treatment records for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) before receiving a diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or coeliac disease
• How often coeliac disease occurs alongside migraines, Type 1 diabetes mellitus or autoimmune thyroid disease

This research will provide valuable insights into IBD and coeliac disease across the UK, and will be used to help improve awareness, inform future advocacy planning, and support efforts to ensure people get the right diagnosis sooner.