World Digestive Health Day – WDHD Poland 2017 Inflammatory Bowel Diseases – Challenges and Hopes

The Polish Society of Gastroenterology (PSG) was the first gastrointestinal (GI) subspecialty society in Europe, created in 1909, only a few years after the formation of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology (JSG). Polish GI physicians were always a part of the international family of gastroenterologists. Polish doctors who made a significant contribution to the world of medicine include Jan Mikulicz-Radecki – the founding father of GI endoscopy, Ludwik Rydygier – one of the most famous gastric surgeons, and Walery Jaworski – professor at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, who discovered the spiral bacteria in the stomach, named Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) 100 years later [1]. Among them was also Prof. Antoni Lesniowski, who first described the unspecific inflammation of terminal ileum and did it many years before Dr Burbill Crohn [2].
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term for chronic GI pathologies comprising ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn’s disease (CD), and microscopic colitis (MC) [3].
The prevalence of IBD worldwide is on the rise, becoming a global disease emergence and one of the most important medical problems in modern medical practice. In Poland, the number of CD patients registered in the Polish Registry of Crohn’s disease exceeds 6600 cases [4]. However, the true estimates are that there are more than 15 thousand CD and 40 thousand UC sufferers in Poland. The majority of patients, mostly below the age of 35 years, are at life-long risk of developing complications and disability while carrying the disease. Modern disease management should be multidisciplinary, and include medical practitioners of various fields – gastroenterologists, GI surgeons, dietitians, clinical pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists, and caregivers. Patients’ societies also have the power to change medical paradigms and influence institutions, health decision makers, and other patients as well.
The Polish Society of Gastroenterology as a member and partner of the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO) aims to raise awareness of IBD through an annual WGO public advocacy and awareness campaign: World Digestive Health Day (WDHD). WDHD is celebrated each year with associated activities and initiatives continuing throughout and beyond the campaign year. The WDHD campaign seeks to translate research into clinical practice and facilitate communication between physicians,...


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