Coexistence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Graves Disease (Basedow’s Disease)

The coexistence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Graves’ disease (GD), also known as Basedow’s disease, is uncommon although both conditions involve the autoimmune process. This report reviews the English-and Japanese-language literature, including proceedings, on coexisting IBD [ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD)] and GD, and discusses cases of concomitant IBD and GD reported since 1980. Of the 33 cases of concomitant IBD and GD that were identified, 29 cases (87.9%) were UC and GD, and four cases were CD and GD (12.1%). 16 patients with concomitant disease were male (48.5%) and 17 (51.5%) were female. In four cases (12.1%), IBD and GD were diagnosed almost simultaneously. In 13 cases (39.4%) GD was diagnosed before IBD and in 16 cases (48.5%) IBD was diagnosed before GD. The interval between the development of the primary and the concomitant disease ranged from 0 to 37 years. The main treatments for concomitant IBD and GD were pharmacotherapy or surgery, and there were no deaths due to either IBD or GD.