# Clinical characteristics of familial and sporadic inflammatory bowel disease in Egyptian patients

## TL;DR

This study compares clinical features and treatment outcomes of familial and sporadic inflammatory bowel disease in Egyptian patients, finding better long-term outcomes in familial cases.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into familial IBD in Egypt, identifying predictors of mucosal healing specific to familial cases.

## Key findings

- Familial IBD patients showed higher rates of mucosal healing and clinical remission compared to sporadic cases in ulcerative colitis.
- Lower platelet count and faecal calprotectin predicted mucosal healing in familial IBD patients.
- No significant differences were found in treatment outcomes between familial and sporadic Crohn’s disease patients.

## Abstract

Familial aggregation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been observed, but data from the Middle East, particularly Egypt, remain limited. This study investigated clinical differences, treatment responses, and predictors of response in familial and sporadic IBD patients.

This case‒control study was conducted on ninety IBD patients (30 familial, 60 sporadic). Clinical history, inflammatory markers, endoscopic findings, and treatment outcomes were analysed over a one-year period. Predictors of response and mucosal healing were assessed via logistic regression.

Mucosal healing was achieved in a greater percentage of patients in the familial group (73.3%) compared to those in the sporadic group (55%), but the difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.093). The percentages of patients with mucosal healing, clinical response, clinical remission and normalization of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels at one year were significantly greater in ulcerative patients in the familial group [17 (85%), 18 (90%), 18 (90%) and 18 (90%), respectively] than in ulcerative patients in the sporadic group [21 (53.8%), 19 (48.7%), 19 (48.7%) and 20 (51.3%), respectively], with p values of 0.018, 0.002, 0.002 and 0.003, respectively. However, there was no statistically significant difference between Crohn’s disease patients of both groups regarding the outcome of the studied patients. A lower platelet count (≤ 324 × 10³/µL) and faecal calprotectin concentration (≤ 679 µg/g) were significant predictors of mucosal healing in familial cases (P = 0.012, P = 0.008, respectively).

Familial IBD patients may present with a more severe initial inflammatory response but have better long-term treatment outcomes. These findings suggest that genetic and environmental influences play a role in IBD, highlighting the need for region-specific studies.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-025-04492-9.