Prevalence and risk factors of pre-neoplastic polyps in patients with ulcerative colits: a cross-sectional retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To Describe the prevalence of adenomatous and serrated polyps in ulcerative colitis and investigate risk factors associated with the development and recurrence of preneoplastic polyps. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, colonoscopy findings and clinical data from patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis who were treated at a tertiary care center were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 240 patients were included (56.3% female, 79% with left-sided or extensive colitis, and 7.5% diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis). The prevalence of adenomatous and serrated polyps was 16.2% (39/240). Age >41 (OR=2.85, 95%CI=1.4 - 5.8; p=0.0125), older age at the first colonoscopy (OR=1.04, 95%CI=1.01 - 1.06; p=0.0015), and higher body mass index (OR=1.12, 95% CI=1.0 - 1.1; p=0.0042) were identified as risk factors for polyps development (p<0.05). Regarding recurrence, 11 out of 39 patients presented with polyps on subsequent colonoscopies, with a mean time to recurrence of 47.5 months. No factors were found to be associated with polyp recurrence. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of adenomatous and serrated polyps in patients with ulcerative colitis appeared to be lower than that reported in the general population.