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£106,500 study will explore why inflammatory bowel and coeliac conditions are missed or diagnosed late

Crohn’s & Colitis UK and Coeliac UK are jointly funding research using anonymised NHS records to study diagnosis patterns, inequalities and missed opportunities for earlier care.

By THE TEA · 31 August 2026

Scientist using a pipette in a laboratory, used as a representative image for medical research Image: Photo: Nathan Rimoux / UnsplashOriginal source

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Two UK charities are joining forces to fund a £106,500 into how inflammatory bowel disease and coeliac-related conditions are , and where people may be falling through gaps in the system.

Crohn’s & Colitis UK and Coeliac UK are supporting Dr Mohamed Shiha and Dr Martha Elwenspoek, working with the Universities of Sheffield and Bristol.

The 16-month project began in July and will analyse anonymised information from the Practice Datalink, a large collection of health records used for research.

The team will examine how common the conditions are, who is being diagnosed and whether factors such as age, geography or are linked to delays or missed opportunities for earlier .

That matters because Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and coeliac disease can all involve long periods of symptoms before people receive a clear explanation. Better population-level could help services understand where those delays happen and how pathways might improve.