Ulcerative colitis had been diagnosed in 3,148,000 U.S. adults, or 1.2%, during 2023–2024. The estimate has a 95% confidence interval of 1.12%–1.32%. The figures below separate current adult survey estimates from older healthcare-use and insurance-claims measures, which cover different populations and years.
Table of contents
- Adult prevalence in the United States
- Differences by age, sex, and race or ethnicity
- Healthcare use and mortality
- Ambulatory-care visits by age and sex
- Privately insured enrollees
- Medicare prevalence and acute-care rates
Adult prevalence in the United States
The latest supplied national estimate comes from the CDC’s report Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2023–2024. It measures adults who had ever been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, so it is a history-of-diagnosis measure rather than a count of people experiencing active symptoms at the time of the survey. The estimate was 3,148,000 adults, equivalent to 1.2% of U.S. adults, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.12%–1.32%. CDC, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2023–2024
Age-specific estimates varied across the adult population. Among adults ages 18–29, 232,000 people, or 0.4%, had ever been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis; the 95% confidence interval was 0.30%–0.64%. Among adults ages 30–39, the estimate was 400,000 people, or 0.9%, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.68%–1.11%. For ages 40–49, 421,000 adults, or 1.0%, had ever received the diagnosis, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.80%–1.31%.
The estimates were higher in older age groups. Adults ages 50–59 accounted for 595,000 people, or 1.5%, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.21%–1.80%. Adults ages 60–69 accounted for 612,000 people, also 1.5%, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.28%–1.84%. Among adults ages 70 and older, 884,000 people, or 2.2%, had ever been diagnosed; the 95% confidence interval was 1.90%–2.48%.
Differences by age, sex, and race or ethnicity
In 2023–2024, the CDC estimated that 1,285,000 men had ever been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. That represented 1.0% of men, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.89%–1.17%. The corresponding estimate for women was 1,862,000, or 1.4%, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.26%–1.56%. These are survey estimates for U.S. adults and should not be read as claims-based rates from a particular insurance program. CDC, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2023–2024
The same 2023–2024 report estimated prevalence across selected race and ethnicity groups as follows:
| Group | Adults ever diagnosed | Share of group | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic Asian adults | 111,000 | 0.7% | 0.42%–1.05% |
| Non-Hispanic Black adults | 215,000 | 0.7% | 0.51%–0.95% |
| Non-Hispanic White adults | 2,296,000 | 1.4% | 1.31%–1.58% |
| Hispanic adults | 447,000 | 1.0% | 0.75%–1.25% |
The confidence intervals matter because each percentage is an estimate rather than an exact census count. The figures also describe the groups and definitions used in the CDC report; they do not establish that every adult with ulcerative colitis has been diagnosed or captured by the survey.
Healthcare use and mortality
Older national healthcare-use statistics show the scale of medical encounters associated with ulcerative colitis. In 2015, ulcerative colitis contributed to 1.3 million ambulatory-care visits in the United States. In 2018, it contributed to 164,000 emergency-department visits and 128,000 hospital discharges. In 2019, ulcerative colitis contributed to 1,000 deaths. These counts come from Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Burden of Digestive Diseases in the United States and refer to different measurement years, so they should not be combined into a single-year total. Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Burden of Digestive Diseases in the United States
The age-adjusted hospital-discharge rate with ulcerative colitis as an all-listed diagnosis rose from 28 per 100,000 in 2004 to 36 per 100,000 in 2018, a 29% increase. The age-adjusted U.S. mortality rate with ulcerative colitis as an underlying or other cause rose from 0.3 per 100,000 in 2004 to 0.4 per 100,000 in 2019, an increase of about one-third. The discharge and mortality measures use different endpoints: an all-listed diagnosis can include ulcerative colitis alongside other recorded conditions, while the mortality measure includes ulcerative colitis as an underlying or other cause.
Ambulatory-care visits by age and sex
The 2014–2016 survey average provides more detail on all-listed ulcerative-colitis ambulatory visits. The age groups do not move in a simple step-by-step pattern because the table reports both total visits and population-based rates. For ages 12–24, there were 110,000 visits, or 196 per 100,000 people. For ages 25–44, there were 128,000 visits, or 152 per 100,000.
Visit rates were higher in the middle and older working-age groups. Adults ages 45–54 accounted for 372,000 visits, or 864 per 100,000 people. Adults ages 55–64 accounted for 358,000 visits, or 878 per 100,000. Adults ages 65–74 accounted for 269,000 visits, or 976 per 100,000. For adults ages 75 and older, the total was 68,000 visits, or 338 per 100,000. Table 85, Ulcerative Colitis: Ambulatory care visits with first-listed and all-listed diagnoses by age, race, ethnicity, and sex in the United States, 2015
By sex, women accounted for 796,000 all-listed ulcerative-colitis ambulatory visits in the 2014–2016 survey average, at 431 per 100,000. Men accounted for 510,000 visits, at 285 per 100,000. These are visit measures, not unique-patient counts: one person may account for more than one visit during the measurement period.
Privately insured enrollees
Claims-based prevalence among privately insured enrollees provides a different view from the national adult survey. In 2020, all-listed ulcerative-colitis diagnoses affected 0.1% of privately insured enrollees ages 12–24. The rate was 0.3% for ages 25–44, 0.4% for ages 45–54, 0.5% for ages 55–64, and 0.5% for ages 65–74. Among enrollees ages 75 and older, the rate was 0.4%.
The 2020 privately insured estimates by sex were 0.4% for women and 0.3% for men. By region, all-listed prevalence was 0.4% in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, compared with 0.3% in the West. These figures are claims-based and limited to privately insured enrollees; they are not a national prevalence estimate for all people in those age groups. Table 89, Ulcerative Colitis: Claims-based prevalence with first-listed and all-listed diagnoses by age, race-ethnicity, sex and region among privately insured enrollees, 2020
Medicare prevalence and acute-care rates
Among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries ages 65 and older, all-listed ulcerative-colitis prevalence was 0.6% overall in 2019. The rate was 0.6% for beneficiaries ages 65–69, 70–74, and 75–79. It was 0.5% for ages 80–84 and 0.4% for ages 85 and older. This Medicare measure applies to fee-for-service, age-eligible beneficiaries and should not be generalized to every Medicare enrollment type. Table 93, Ulcerative Colitis: Claims-based prevalence with first-listed and all-listed diagnoses by age, race, sex and region among fee-for-service, age-eligible Medicare beneficiaries, 2019
Among the same fee-for-service Medicare population in 2019, all-listed ulcerative-colitis emergency-department visit rates increased across the reported older age groups: 97 per 100,000 for ages 65–69, 108 for ages 70–74, 143 for ages 75–79, 170 for ages 80–84, and 179 for ages 85 and older. The regional rate was 187 per 100,000 in the Northeast versus 105 per 100,000 in the West.
All-listed ulcerative-colitis hospital-discharge rates were 90 per 100,000 for ages 65–69, 93 for ages 70–74, 141 for ages 75–79, 152 for ages 80–84, and 150 for ages 85 and older. By region, the hospital-discharge rate was 157 per 100,000 in the Northeast versus 91 per 100,000 in the West. The emergency-department and hospital-discharge figures are utilization rates, not prevalence rates, and they describe encounters recorded for fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries in 2019. Table 95, Ulcerative Colitis: Emergency department visits with first-listed and all-listed diagnoses by age, race, sex and region among fee-for-service, age-eligible Medicare beneficiaries, 2019