China Digestive Health Index Initiative Launched to Advance Prevention and Control of Digestive Diseases

Shanghai, March 202121Takeda /PR Newswire/ --March 20Launch of the China Digestive Health Index Development Project, jointly initiated by the Alliance of County Hospital Presidents in China and the Zhongguancun Pan-Asia Strategic Alliance for Technological Innovation in Digestive Endoscopy, with full support from Takeda China. The project aims to provide a basis for assessing the overall digestive health status and prevention and control measures among the national and regional populations, facilitate the advancement of digestive disease prevention and control in China, cover chronic disease health management across the entire population and full life cycle in the field of digestive diseases, and contribute to achieving the grand goals of “Healthy China 2030.”

Launch of the China Digestive Health Index Development Project

In recent years, with changes in lifestyle and living environments, as well as the accelerating pace of population aging, the incidence of digestive system diseases has been rising year by year, becoming a common disease in the new era.^[1]. Due to the high incidence and high recurrence rates of digestive system diseases, they rank among the highest in the prevalence of chronic diseases.^[2]However, the current lack of public awareness regarding early prevention and control has led to a high incidence of gastrointestinal tumors, with a trend toward affecting younger populations. This seriously impacts people's health and imposes a heavy burden on families and society. Taking the common Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection as an example, data show that approximately 89% of gastric cancer cases are associated with Helicobacter pylori infection.^[3], while for another type of digestive system disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), approximately 20% of patients develop colorectal cancer within ten years after onset^[4], the overall situation in disease prevention and control remains grim. Therefore, it is imperative to strengthen scientific understanding of diseases, promote early screening and diagnosis, and enhance overall standards of clinical care as well as prevention and treatment capabilities.

To address the challenges in the prevention and control of digestive diseases in China, Takeda China fully supports the China County Hospital Presidents Alliance, the Zhongguancun Pan-Asia Digestive Endoscopy Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, and other entities in launching the project to develop the China Digestive Health Index.

Academician Li Zhaoshen, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Director of the Department of Gastroenterology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, stated: “This project holds significant importance. It will establish a project team by inviting experts in gastroenterology, public health, epidemiology, and health policy, leveraging existing national-level databases. The team will assess the digestive health status of the Chinese population and conduct analyses across multiple dimensions, including disease prevalence, risk factors, disease prevention and control, and public health safeguards. This will involve systematic reviews of domestic and international epidemiological studies on digestive diseases and related assessment indices. Subsequently, existing data will be analyzed and organized to actively evaluate severity, prevalence, and control status, thereby establishing relevant models. If validated in pilot cities, this initiative will ultimately produce a scientific, visualizable, measurable, traceable, and actionable index reflecting the digestive health status of the Chinese population. This will aid in the prevention of digestive diseases in China, including the early prevention, early diagnosis, and early treatment of gastrointestinal tumors, thereby helping to improve the overall level of digestive disease management in the country.” This index will help address current challenges in China’s management of digestive system diseases, such as low disease awareness, low coverage of early screening and diagnosis, and uneven distribution of regional prevention and control capabilities. It will further enhance China’s capacity for preventing and controlling digestive system diseases, strengthen disease management systems, curb the rising burden of digestive diseases, and improve the quality of life for patients with digestive diseases in China.

Professor Fang Jingyuan, Director of the Department of Gastroenterology and Vice President of Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, speaking as the clinical expert representative for the project, stated: “The incidence of digestive system diseases in China has remained persistently high, and the challenge of ‘difficult prevention’ continues to persist. In this context, the China Digestive Health Index Project was launched. This project provides crucial support for improving healthy life expectancy in China, preventing digestive system diseases, and formulating healthcare policies. We look forward to working closely with colleagues across the gastroenterology field in the future to jointly enhance the project, making it more comprehensive, accurate, socially meaningful, and scientifically valuable.”

Professor Zhou Maigeng from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “It is hoped that the China Digestive Health Index can identify key leverage points for the prevention and control of digestive system diseases, thereby reducing their incidence and mortality rates. Furthermore, based on the actual situation of digestive disease prevention and control in China, it aims to promote the standardization, normalization, and homogenization of digestive diagnosis and treatment services, narrow the gaps in the quality of digestive care between regions and among different medical institutions, and drive an overall improvement in the management of digestive system diseases in China.”

Mr. Shan Guohong, President of Takeda China, stated, “For 25 years, Takeda has been deeply committed to the gastroenterology field in China, consistently adhering to its ‘patient-first’ principle. We are dedicated to addressing unmet treatment needs by enhancing disease awareness, diagnosis and treatment, and rehabilitation management, thereby improving patient experience and clinical outcomes while empowering patients throughout their entire disease management journey. Looking ahead, Takeda will continue to leverage its advantages and resources in gastrointestinal therapeutics, introduce innovative treatment solutions, and collaborate with all stakeholders to build a comprehensive prevention and control system for digestive diseases in China, contributing to the advancement of the Healthy China initiative.”

^[1]2019 White Paper on Gastrointestinal Disease Examinations in China

^[2]"China Health Statistics Yearbook 2020". National Health Commission. 2020:236-8

^[3] Shin WG . Korean Journal of Helicobacter & Upper Gastrointestinal Research,.2017;17(1):18

^[4]Li Jingnan. Chinese Journal of Internal Medicine. 2014;53(5):351-3