Effectiveness and Safety of Biologic Therapy in Hispanic Vs Non-Hispanic Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A CA-IBD Cohort Study

Abstract

Background & Aims: There are limited data on outcomes of biologic therapy in Hispanic patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). We compared risk of hospitalization, surgery, and serious infections in Hispanic vs non-Hispanic patients with IBD in a multicenter, electronic health record–based cohort of biologic-treated patients. Methods: We identified adult patients with IBD who were new users of biologic agents (tumor necrosis factor α [TNF-α] antagonists, ustekinumab, vedolizumab) from 5 academic institutions in California between 2010 and 2017. We compared the risk of all-cause hospitalization, IBD-related surgery, and serious infections in Hispanic vs non-Hispanic patients using 1:4 propensity score matching and survival analysis. Results: We compared 240 Hispanic patients (53% male; 45% with ulcerative colitis; 73% TNF-α antagonist–treated; 20% with prior biologic exposure) with 960 non-Hispanic patients (51% male; 44% with ulcerative colitis; 67% TNF-α antagonist–treated; 27% with prior biologic exposure). After propensity score matching, Hispanic patients were younger (37 ± 15 vs 40 ± 16 y; P =.02) and had a higher burden of comorbidities (Elixhauser index, >0; 37% vs 26%; P