Global Healthy Living Foundation and GoodTe. Inc. Rank Japanese vs. English Speaking Respondents In A Small Global Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study

NYACK, N.Y.--( BUSINESS WIRE )-- A small dual-language Japanese and English survey of 203 patients from 13 countries showed 56 percent of Japanese respondents with IBD were diagnosed within a year of symptom onset vs. 33 percent of those answering in English. The study was jointly conducted by an online IBD patient community, G-Community, a part of GoodTe. Inc., Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, and the Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF) using self-selected participants from online communities and social media. It was designed to informally compare Japanese language respondents to those answering in English.

“Despite its small size and informal nature, this survey is noteworthy because of the disparity in some responses that positively highlight the Japanese IBD experience, including a comparatively short time to diagnosis,” Aya Fujiwara, Japan Lead at the Global Living Foundation says.

Conversely, the debilitating effects of inflammatory bowel disease at work and in school were equally present in patients from in both surveyed languages. Fifty-Eight percent of Japanese language respondents and 63 percent of English language respondents reported interference with school while 90 percent of those answering in Japanese and 87 percent in English indicated significant work impact.

“This speaks to the uniform global disease burden of IBD, even after diagnosis,” Ms. Fujiwara, added.

In addition, although many Japanese-language respondents were diagnosed within one year, about 21 percent still experienced a delay of over five years—similar to the 25 percent of English-language respondents who faced the same delay.

“We can only assume, from some of the free-form responses that the delayed diagnosis came from those without access to specialists, a difficulty recognizing symptoms, or people without a medical home,” Ms. Fujiwara said. “We need to refine these rough findings with additional research.”

Japanese respondents showed strong trust in their healthcare providers, with 48 percent of Japanese-language respondents expressing trust—more than twice the rate of English-language respondents (21%).

Survey Details

• Conducted by: GoodTe. Inc., Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Japanese language) and GHLF (English language)
• Survey Dates:
  • Japan: May 8–12, 2025
  • Rest of World: May 7–11, 2025
• Respondents: People diagnosed with IBD
• Method: GoodTe. Inc. /GHLF online communities and social media (Instagram, X)
• Total survey respondents: 203
  • Japanese language respondents: 52 (26%)
  • English language respondents: 151 (74%)

About GHLF

A global nonprofit founded in 1999, representing patients with chronic disease through education, advocacy, research, and patient support.
- GHLF Japanese language IBD page: https://linktr.ee/GHLF_IBD
- GHLF English language website: https://ghlf.org/
- Japanese language podcasts and information. Japanese language: Living with IBD—Education and Employment: https://ghlf.org/japan

About GoodTe. Inc. and G Community:

GoodTe was founded in 2018 and its IBD patient group, G Community, began July 2019, has over 3,100 members. Members have access to:

GoodTe Recipe, a collection of IBD-friendly recipes, and Gentle Bites, a gut-friendly snack supported by the Meiji Accelerator program.

Japanese
- G Community Japanese language IBD site: https://gcarecommunity.com/
- GoodTe Recipe Japanese language cooking site: https://goodtecommunity.com/
- Gentle Bites Shop Japanese language IBD-friendly snacks: https://shop.goodtecommunity.com/

About Inflammatory Bowel Disease:

IBD is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting intestinal mucosa. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and bloody stool. Its cause is unknown and IBD, affecting nearly 300,000 Japanese people, is designated as an intractable disease by Japan’s Ministry of Health.

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