inflammatory bowel disease

Definition (NEJM 2020;383:2652)

  • Ulcerative colitis (UC): inflammation of the colonic mucosa; contiguous, starting at ↣ rectum
  • Crohn’s disease (CD): transmural inflammation anywhere along GI tract, skip lesions

Epidemiology & pathophysiology (Lancet 2016;387:156 & 2017;390:2769)

ULCERATIVE COLITISCROHN’S DISEASE
Age of onsetSecond to fourth decades and seventh to ninth decadesSecond to fourth decades and seventh to ninth decades
Female-to-male ratio0.51–1.580.34–1.65
SmokingMay prevent disease (odds ratio 0.58)May cause disease (odds ratio 1.76)
Oral contraceptivesNo increased riskHazard ratio 2.82
AppendectomyProtective (risk reduction 13–26%)Not protective
Monozygotic twins6–18% concordance38–58% concordance
Dizygotic twins0–2% concordance4% concordance
  • Infections in the first year of life: 1.6 and 3 times the risk of developing IBD by age 10 and 20 years
  • Ethnicity : Jewish > non-Jewish white > black > Latinx (西班牙人)> Asian

Abbreviation: IBD, inflammatory bowel disease.