Epidemiological aspects of Crohn's disease: a review of the literature.

作者：John Francis Mayberry, J. Rhodes · 发表于：Gut · 年份：1984 · DOI：10.1136/gut.25.8.886 · 被引用次数：103 · 研究领域：Inflammatory Bowel Disease、Ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment、Inflammatory Biomarkers in Disease Prognosis

Progress reportEpidemiological aspects of Crohn's disease: a review of the literature During the last 50 years, an apparently rare intestinal condition has become a common important clinical problem.Kennedy Dalziel,l while working in the Western Infirmary, Glasgow, described nine patients with an illness which is now known as Crohn's disease.2This disease became much more common in the 1950s and emerged as a major gastrointestinal problem with current estimates that as many as 20 000 people may be affected in Britain.As the disease often afflicts young people shortly after puberty and lasts throughout life, it has important implications for individual patients and those involved in their management.Treatment, which is empirical and not curative, is largely based on the use of steroids and surgical resections, both of which carry a significant morbidity and mortality.It is not surprising that there has been substantial research endeavour to identify the cause and although viruses, bacteria, and immunological abnormalities have all been implicated, direct evidence for the role of a major causative agent is lacking.It is therefore pertinent to review epidemiological data which may give some lead in the quest for such causative factors.International differences in the occurrence of Crohn's disease A review of current world literature suggests that Crohn's disease is most common in North America and northern Europe, emerging in southern Europe and least common in other areas of th...