Epidemiology of primary sclerosing cholangitis in general and IBD populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis
PSC is rare in the general population but substantially more common in people with IBD, particularly ulcerative colitis, and it raises long-term hepatobiliary risks including cholangiocarcinoma—so knowing how often PSC occurs helps clinicians and patients weigh surveillance and referral decisions.
Adults with IBD (especially ulcerative colitis), gastroenterologists, hepatologists, epidemiologists and researchers studying IBD-related liver disease, and clinicians involved in IBD surveillance programs.
What To Know
Why it matters This systematic review and meta-analysis updates how common primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is overall and among people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
It highlights that PSC is rare in the general population but substantially more common in people with IBD—especially ulcerative colitis—and that geographic and methodological differences limit the available data. What to know The study pooled data from population- and cohort-based studies to estimate PSC prevalence and incidence.
In the general population the pooled prevalence was reported as about 8 per 100,000; among people with IBD the pooled prevalence was about 15.2 per 1,000, higher in ulcerative colitis than Crohn’s disease. The authors also report a pooled incidence in the general population and emphasize wide heterogeneity across regions and study methods.
The paper underscores gaps in data from lower-resource regions and calls for standardized case definitions and improved surveillance. Because PSC carries a markedly increased risk of cholangiocarcinoma, the findings reinforce the importance of awareness and targeted evaluation in higher-risk IBD patients.
Keep in mind This brief is grounded in the article abstract provided (structured content depth: abstract). The abstract reports pooled epidemiologic estimates and notes heterogeneity; it does not provide patient-level management recommendations or new diagnostic/interventional trial results.
Estimates come from pooled population- and cohort-based studies up to October 2025; the abstract notes substantial geographic and methodological heterogeneity and underrepresentation of low-SDI regions, so pooled numbers should be interpreted with caution for under-sampled settings.
