Month: April 2023

Anemia and IBD: Underdiagnosed and Undertreated

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One in three people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has iron deficient anemia. This common, but often underrecognized and undertreated extra-intestinal manifestation impacts so many of us. You may wonder why. The reason is three-fold.

First being that long-term irritation and inflammation in our intestines can interfere with our body’s ability to use and absorb vitamins and minerals properly. When our intestines don’t absorb enough iron, folate, B12 and other nutrients, our bodies are unable to create more red blood cells. Those with IBD are also at risk for blood loss—both visible and microscopic and we often don’t eat as much iron-rich foods. So, what can we do to boost our reserves and increase our energy? How as patients can we better advocate for ourselves to stay on top of screenings? This week on Lights, Camera, Crohn’s an in-depth look at anemia in both adult and pediatric patients and input from Dr. Alka Goyal, who recently co-authored a major study on pediatric anemia.

Symptoms to watch out for

As someone who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in July 2005, I experienced anemia long before my diagnosis. I often wonder if my anemia was a warning sign of the larger issue, my IBD. In fourth grade, I fainted on the teacher’s desk while waiting for her to look at an assignment. Throughout my life I’ve experienced light-headedness, weakness, black outs, and extreme fatigue. My symptoms were never addressed prior to finding out I had Crohn’s. A simple lab test would have shown all along. When I was diagnosed with IBD and hospitalized my hemoglobin was a 7. To give you an idea, people are given blood transfusions once they drop to 7 (or below). Throughout my 18 years with IBD, my hemoglobin was rarely ever in “double digits”—and I took over the counter iron supplements for years.

Once I had my bowel resection surgery in 2015, my iron panel slowly started to improve. It  takes time. Last month, I had my “highest” hemoglobin since diagnosis, ever—12.9 (which really isn’t that high, but I’ll take it!). It’s difficult to put the fatigue caused by anemia into words, but you can physically tell such a difference when your iron panel is where it needs to be.

When you have anemia, you have less blood carrying oxygen throughout your body. The most common symptom is feeling tired or lethargic. Other symptoms include dizziness, headaches, feeling cold, pale skin, being irritable, and shortness of breath. Not everyone experiences symptoms, so it’s important as a patient to speak with your GI about making sure that when you get labs, an iron panel is part of the workup.

Screening for Anemia

Anemia screening is driven by patient symptoms and/or a care provider’s recognition of lab abnormalities. It’s important to note that anemia is not *just* a low hemoglobin, all the lab figures matter. With iron deficiency anemia (IDA), red blood cells are smaller and paler in color. Your hematocrit, hemoglobin, and ferritin go hand in hand. Ferritin helps store iron in your body. Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia and is caused by a lack of iron-rich foods, malabsorption, and blood loss.

Other types of anemia include vitamin deficiency anemia and anemia of chronic disease. Vitamin deficiency anemia is a result of poor absorption of folic acid and vitamin B12. My GI has me on daily folic acid. Luckily my B12 has never been an issue, but it’s worth a discussion with your care team. If you’re deficient, you can receive B12 injections. Diseases such as IBD and other inflammatory diseases can interfere with the production of red blood cells. When this happens anemia can often only be resolved once remission is reached or inflammation calms down.

In order to address the need for improved patient management, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation created the Anemia Care Pathway (ACP) to standardize clinical management of anemia in IBD. This pathway helps to identify high-risk patients so that timely intervention and care can be provided. The hope is that this pathway will improve patient outcomes and our quality of life. Patients are assessed based on the severity of their anemia and iron stores to determine the type of iron therapy (intra-venous or oral) that is best suited.

The importance of accurately diagnosing the type of anemia you have

According to the PubMed study, Management of Anemia in Patient with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, despite iron deficiency anemia impacting one third of IBD patients, “more than a third of anemic ulcerative colitis patients are not tested for IDA, and a quarter are not treated with iron replacement therapy.” While oral iron tablets are effective for treating mild IDA, it’s not for everybody. The study also notes, “it is important to recognize that ferritin is elevated in chronic inflammatory states and among patients with active IBD, ferritin levels less than 100 are considered to be diagnostic of iron deficiency.” Iron infusions have a solid safety profile and can be used to help boost your iron stores and prevent future iron deficiency.

While treatment goals are well-defined, selecting a treatment is often not as straightforward. The PubMed study previously mentioned recommends that all IBD patients with IDA should be considered for oral supplement therapy, whereas someone with clinically active IBD, or someone who is not tolerant of oral iron, with hemoglobin levels below 10 g/dl be given IV infusions therapy. While oral iron is safe and affordable, some people experience GI issues from oral iron, it can also increase inflammation and contribute to flares in patients who are not in remission.

A study published in August 2022, entitled, “Ironing It All Out: A Comprehensive Review of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Inflammatory Bowel Disease” claims approximately 45% of patients with IBD are anemic—which is a more than what’s been reported (33%) for years.

“Though intravenous (IV) iron is substantially underused, it’s considered first-line treatment for patients with active disease, severe anemia, oral iron intolerance, and erythropoietin (a hormone secreted by the kidneys that increases the rate of production of red blood cells in response to falling levels of oxygen in the tissues.)

Anemia in pediatric IBD patients

The most common cause of anemia in children with IBD is iron deficiency. It results from chronic blood loss, poor absorption, and less intake of foods that are rich in iron due to poor appetite, food selection or intolerance. According to the World Health Organization’s definition of anemia, prevalence in the pediatric IBD population ranges from 44% to 74% at diagnosis and 25% to 58% at 1 year follow-up.

Anemia can be both a biomarker of disease activity and a subtle or debilitating extraintestinal manifestation. According to, Anemia in Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Positi… : Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (lww.com), “newly diagnosed children with IBD are more likely to have IDA in contrast to anemia of chronic disease. No significant improvement in the hemoglobin was observed when patients were assessed after 13 weeks of induction therapy with conventional drugs that included nutritional therapy, azathioprine, steroids, and 5-ASAs. Despite the recognition of anemia, fewer than half of anemic patients received indicated iron therapy.”

Dr. Alka Goyal, MD, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, and Interim Associate Chief of Clinical Affairs at Stanford University of Medicine, co-authored this study on pediatrics and tells me the key message is that anemia is the most common extraintestinal manifestation in patients with IBD.

“More than 2/3rd of children with IBD are anemic at the time of diagnosis. The treatment of IBD alone does not resolve anemia, which can be associated with a variety of symptoms. Persistent anemia indicates a more aggressive disease course,” said Dr. Goyal.

Hemoglobin levels across genders and race

According to the study, hemoglobin levels are similar in preteen boys and girls; however, after menstruation, the cutoff hemoglobin in girls is lower than in boys and is even lower in pregnant versus nonpregnant women. The African American population tends to have lower hemoglobin concentration compared with Caucasians.

“Although the normal range of hemoglobin varies with age, gender, and race, a hemoglobin level below 10 g/dL is considered to be consistent with moderate anemia and below 8 g/dL as severe anemia, whereas in young children below the age of 5 years and pregnant women, a hemoglobin level below 7 g/dL is deemed as severe anemia.”

Dr. Goyal says it’s important to monitor anemia regularly in all patients with IBD.

“Anemia can be an early indicator of active disease or an impending flare of IBD. When the body has inflammation, the iron stored in the body cannot be metabolized to help manufacture more hemoglobin and additionally there is suppression of normal blood production, resulting in anemia of chronic disease.”

Other causes include vitamin deficiency, medication side effects, or breakdown of red blood cells due to other inherited or disease-related complications.

“Patients should be monitored not just by symptoms, but also by blood tests like complete blood count, Ferritin, and markers of inflammation like CRP every 3 months when they have active inflammation and every 6 months when patients are in remission,” Dr. Goyal explains.

Bringing a dietitian on board to help

Registered dieticians who specialize in IBD can advise patients and families about foods that contain iron naturally. The iron in meats is more readily absorbed than that present in a plant-based diet.

Dr. Goyal says another important concept is food pairing.

“With food pairing, iron-rich foods like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard are ingested with citrus fruits, melons, or vegetables like bell pepper, broccoli, beans, carrots, tomato, etc. Avoid simultaneous ingestion of foods rich in dietary fiber, soy, cereals, coffee, tea, and animal protein like milk, and eggs. Children should consume at least three servings of iron-rich foods like fortified cereals, red meat, tofu, etc. The recommended daily intake of iron in healthy children is 7-11 mg daily,” says Dr. Goyal.

Treating anemia in the younger IBD population

When it comes to treating anemia, Dr. Goyal has helpful tips. She says it’s important to recognize and treat anemia along with the treatment of IBD and vice versa.

  • Oral iron can be tried in mild anemia when the hemoglobin is above 10 gm/dl, preferably given with juice or citrus fruits.
  • Avoid taking oral iron multiple times a day or in high doses.
  • Brush your child’s teeth after taking liquid iron.
  • If your child experiences side effects including abdominal pain, nausea, or constipation, and/or has no significant improvement with oral iron, it is safe to give intravenous iron.
  • Timely treatment may save a blood transfusion. excessive unabsorbed iron is not healthy for our digestive system, so avoid overdosing on oral iron. 

Patients with persistent anemia lasting for three or more years were noted to have a higher prevalence of more severe and complicated disease (stricturing and penetrating phenotype) with a greater need for surgical intervention.

Whether you’re an adult patient or a caregiver to a child or young adult with IBD, be mindful of the importance of keeping tabs on whether anemia is creeping in and hindering you or someone you loves quality of life. Have the conversation with your GI and make sure you are being vigilant and proactive about doing all you can to prevent, manage, and treat anemia.

No Bones About It: What the IBD community needs to know about bone health

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Life with IBD is constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Expecting more trauma. Knowing in your heart of hearts the results won’t be in your favor. Preparing yourself mentally and emotionally for the worst. Gearing up for the next unexpected roadblock or hurdle. I felt all these things walking into my first-ever bone health specialist appointment Friday (4/7/2023). My bone scan in December 2022, days before Christmas, showed some remarkable deterioration in my lumbar spine since my previous scan in 2019. My GI called me a bit alarmed the same day I did my scan, and let me know it was imperative I follow up with a bone health doctor.

I felt nervous about what this meant for my future and let’s just say Google was not my friend. When you’re 39 and a busy stay at home mom of three young children, osteoporosis doesn’t really go with my flow. When I went to make an appointment, the bone health specialist was booked until December 2023…a whole YEAR from my previous bone scan. I felt helpless and didn’t know what I should do proactively to maintain my bone health and try and improve it. Reading up, it sounded like a simple abdominal crunch could cause vertebrae to compress and fracture. I felt scared to exercise or put any additional strain from my day-to-day on my back.

The week of Christmas I wrote to the bone health specialist directly by email about my health history and my concern for waiting a whole year. I received a phone call from her office shortly after the New Year and they got me in April 7, 2023…instead of December 2023. I was over the moon, but also a bit anxious about what this appointment would mean for my future.

What the experience at the bone health doctor entailed

It was a crisp, sunny, spring day in St. Louis as I parked my car, took a deep breath, and said a little prayer before walking into the medical building. The office required me to do another bone scan as their machine and readings are different from the hospital where my previous scans were taken from (even though they are the same medical system). When I laid on the table for the bone scan my mind raced a bit, I felt a little anxiety creeping in. I figured the results were going to be the same as before and that I was going to be approached about starting an additional biologic (which I was planning to push back on).

When the doctor walked in, she said I have “low bone mass” for my age. At this point, unless I’ve had a fracture, she said they wouldn’t use the term “osteopenia” or “osteoporosis”. According to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, as many as 30 to 60 percent of people with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis have lower-than-average bone density. Being that I am almost 40 and pre-menopausal, there’s what’s called the Z and the T-score. I wasn’t aware of this and needed to do research to understand this better.

According to the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation, T-Scores compare bone density with that of a healthy person, whereas Z-scores use the average bone density of people of the same age, sex, and size as a comparator. Although both scores are beneficial, most experts prefer to focus on Z-scores for children, teenagers, premenopausal females, and young males. These scores are helpful for diagnosing secondary osteoporosis, which stems from underlying medical conditions (such as IBD), rather than primary osteoporosis which results from a person aging.

So my Z-score was -1.8…while zero would be optimal, given my nearly 18-year history living with Crohn’s, past steroid use, and the fact I’m Vitamin D deficient, the doctor was not overly concerned by that number.

We went through my patient journey with Crohn’s disease—each hospitalization, timing of steroids, family history, timing of pregnancies and breastfeeding, whether I have ever used birth control, if I had ever had a kidney stone…this doctor genuinely listened and wanted to get details about my full health history. I felt validated, seen, and heard, but also comforted that the main “concern” is moreso my Vitamin D deficiency than anything else.

What this means moving forward

To strengthen bones and slow down the rate of deterioration, lifestyle is key. Vitamin D and Calcium are vital. My GI currently prescribes me 50,000 IU of Vitamin D once a week, along with 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily. The bone health specialist told me after I get my routine labs done in June, if my Vitamin D doesn’t improve that she would suggest going on 50,000 IU two times a week. Like many of us in the IBD community, we tend to have malabsorption problems due to past surgery.

Along with my typical labs from my GI, this doctor also added additional labs—Vitamin D, Renal Function panel, and parathyroid hormone (PHT) test.

As far as Calcium, she recommended trying to get it through diet versus a supplement. She suggested eating yogurt daily, cheese, fortified cereals/oatmeal, and drinking milk/almond milk, OJ with calcium, and eating leafy greens. With my age, the goal is to consume1,000 mg of Calcium a day. It’s important to note she said Calcium can cause constipation and bloating. Calcium is absorbed best when taken in amounts of 600 mg or less per dose.

In a helpful folder provided by my doctor, I learned that our bodies need Vitamin D to absorb Calcium. When you’re Vitamin D deficient like me, our bodies cannot absorb enough calcium from diet and take it from our skeletons, where Calcium is stored. This weakens existing bone and prevents the formation of new bone. You can get Vitamin D from different sources: through the skin, with diet, and by taking supplements.

When it comes to exercise, I have no limitations. My doctor recommended I avoid high risk activities like extreme snowboarding or powerlifting, which isn’t an issue for me!

Given that I do have lower bone mass, I have another bone scan scheduled for April 2024 along with another bone health appointment immediately following the scan. It does my heart good to know that we’re being proactive with annual scans, but conservative in our approach. Everyone who has IBD should be given a bone scan in order to get a baseline read and follow up with repeat scans every 2-3 years, unless there’s concerning findings. If you’re reading this and your GI has not communicated with you about bone health, it’s time to start the discussion.

Simply saying and hearing “low bone mass” from a patient perspective has a much better connotation than “osteoporosis”. The entire experience and appointment with my new specialist felt like a big win. The news was unexpected, and I felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief. One less health issue to worry about, but something that I’ll continue to keep tabs on.

Reliable Sources of Bone Health Information to Check Out

The National Osteoporosis Foundation

American Bone Health

Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation

Washington University Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases

NSAIDS and IBD: Are they really a no-go?

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When was the last time you popped an aspirin or an Aleve for body aches, abdominal pain, or a headache? Chances are, if you have IBD, you’ve been told to refrain from doing so. People with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are told to stick to acetaminophen, or Tylenol, as it’s gentler on the stomach and not known to cause ulcers or aggravate IBD. While we’re still not supposed to take NSAIDs all the time, research is going on about whether it’s ok to take on an “as needed” or “short term” basis and if they truly put IBD patients at risk for a flare.

I ran a poll on Instagram asking those with IBD if they take NSAIDs. Of the 350 responses, 68% said no, 14% said yes, and 18% said only short term.

After my bowel resection surgery and three c-sections I was told short term NSAIDs were “safe” to help manage pain postoperatively. In full transparency, over the last year or so I’ve dealt with back pain that comes and goes and have felt the need to take NSAIDs on several occasions, but in the back of mind I know I probably shouldn’t be. I try and limit how often, and only took Tylenol for nearly 17 years. But, when the pain gets to be a bit much and I have to manage life with three little ones, sometimes I feel like I have no other choice. There’s been more and more talk lately about NSAIDs and IBD, so I wanted to take a deep dive and share what I’ve learned.

Dr. Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, M.D., M.S., gastroenterologist and research scientist at University of Michigan and Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System, recently conducted a study that looked into how NSAIDs impact the IBD population. She says the best research questions come from clinical experience and this is a topic that comes up quite a bit from patients.

“We have been discussing the question of whether NSAIDs cause IBD flares for years, and there is no strong evidence directing us to conclude that NSAIDs definitely cause flares, nor that they are safe for use in IBD. As opioid use and abuse continues to rise, it is becoming more and more important to consider our non-opioid analgesic options. Ultimately, the idea for this study came about from discussions between the co-investigators on this study as to the clinical implications of this work, and the methods we have available to further investigate this important research question,” she said.

What the study found about NSAIDs and IBD

The study findings were not necessarily surprising.

“It is very difficult to study the impact of NSAIDs on IBD flares because prospective comparative studies are difficult to conduct for an over-the-counter medication such as NSAIDs, which is widely available to patients in various forms. Therefore, to demonstrate equipoise and justify the need for further safety and effectiveness work, we leveraged a large national database of patients with IBD.”

Dr. Cohen-Mekelburg and her team used a multimethod approach to understand the associations between NSAIDs and IBD flares.

“First, we looked at a traditional statistical method for examining associations between an exposure (i.e., NSAIDs) and an outcome (i.e., IBD flare). We then used more advanced techniques to demonstrate that this observed association may potentially be due to bias rather than a true association. These biases are well-established and important to consider when conducting observational research.”

It’s important to note that just because there’s conversation, interest, and research going on about NSAIDs and IBD, doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a change in clinical practice or current recommendations.

“This moreso inspires us to question our current knowledge in order to justify that further work is necessary to establish the safety of NSAIDs in IBD, and specifically, for what patients and in which contexts,” she said.

Why not taking NSAIDs as a patient isn’t necessarily clear-cut

Dr. Cohen-Mekelburg wants patients to know there is “no universal recommendation” for the “best way” to take NSAIDs if you have IBD, which is why many patients get mixed messages from clinicians and their peers. 

“In practice, we see that some patients take NSAIDs routinely without any adverse effects, and others may take NSAIDs for a short period of time with serious adverse effects. Ultimately, more research is necessary to better understand the safety and effectiveness of NSAIDs for IBD-related pain control.”

Just as IBD presents uniquely in each of us, our response to NSAIDs and what is safe or harmful needs to be further studied.

Dr. Cohen-Mekelburg says, “COX-2 inhibitors are NSAIDs that are more selective in their mechanism of action and are thought to carry a lower risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. However, they may carry a higher risk of other adverse effects, such as cardiac problems. Some clinicians have questioned whether these selective COX-2 inhibitors may be “safer” in IBD, but this is not known based on current evidence.”

Ultimately, the goal of Dr. Cohen-Mekelburg’s study was to bring attention to the topic of NSAIDS in IBD and to inform future work to better answer these important questions that both patients and clinicians need to improve IBD care and pain management.

Aspirin and IBD pregnancies

As an IBD mom of 3—ages 6, 4, and 20 months I recently learned that it’s recommended for women with Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis to take a baby aspirin during pregnancy. I was pretty shocked by this. Dr. Uma Mahadevan, M.D., Director, Colitis and Crohn’s Disease Center at UCSF, and Chair of IBDParenthoodProject.org, recommends all pregnant women with IBD start around week 12 of gestation. For those who don’t know, Dr. Mahadevan is at the forefront of the latest research and guidance when it comes to IBD and pregnancy research with the PIANO study (Pregnancy Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Neonatal Outcomes).

“Women with immune mediated disease, like IBD, are at higher risk of pre-eclampsia and related disorders (gestational hypertension). Going on baby aspirin has been shown to reduce that risk. The original trial was done in Europe with 162 mg, but in the U.S., we use 81 mg,” said Dr. Mahadevan.

She says this conversation is started with women during pre-conception counseling.

“Prior to these discussions, many of my patients were surprised and always checked with us. I tell them to take the baby aspirin with food and let us know if disease flares. Anecdotally they have all done well with respect to IBD.  As an FYI, aspirin can increase calprotectin, so that’s something to keep in mind if you are monitoring that,” said Dr. Mahadevan.

The idea NSAIDS trigger IBD flares is controversial. Are patients taking NSAIDS because they have a flare or did the medication trigger a flare? Dr. Mahadevan says it does seem that short term (a few times a month for headaches, menstrual cramps) is low risk for triggering a flare.

In summary, if you ask most GI’s, they will tell you that a “short course” (5 times a month or less) of NSAIDS when you have IBD is “ok”. If your symptoms worsen or do not resolve, then it’s time to communicate with your care team and possibly get some lab work to get to the bottom of what’s going on. When I was in pelvic floor therapy last year, my therapist recommended T-Relief Arnica +12 Cream. It’s a game-changer for me and alleviates pain in minutes. I rub a little on sore joints and my lower back and lay on the heating pad and don’t feel the need to take any medication. Tylenol Arthritis also helps with joint pain.

The jury is still out about whether NSAIDs exacerbate Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, and further studies are needed. For general aches and pains, most GI’s recommend taking acetaminophen instead of NSAIDs if you have IBD. Have the conversation with your care team and be open and honest about how you are managing your pain whether it’s related to IBD, extraintestinal manifestations, or a completely different ailment.