Crohn's disease can occur at any age, but you're likely to develop the condition when you're young. Most people who develop Crohn's disease are diagnosed before they're around 30 years old.
The cause of Crohn's disease is unknown. Researchers think that an autoimmune reaction may be one cause. An autoimmune reaction happens when your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body. Genetics may also play a role, since Crohn's disease can run in families.
Most commonly, Crohn's affects your small intestine and the beginning of your large intestine. However, the disease can affect any part of your digestive tract, from your mouth to your anus. Learn more about your digestive system and how it works. Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
According to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation (CCF), most people receive a Crohn's disease diagnosis between the ages of 15 and 35. The average age of Crohn's disease diagnosis is 29.5 years. However, research also suggests people can receive a diagnosis of Crohn's disease 1–5 years after developing it.
Kaplan, “is the observation that as newly industrialized countries have transitioned towards a westernized society, inflammatory bowel disease emerges and its incidence rises rapidly.” Industrialization and a Western lifestyle are now clearly in the mix of culprits to blame for rising IBD rates.
Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 30, but Crohn's can develop at any time. 1 People may have had the disease for years before it is diagnosed, because the symptoms resemble other gastrointestinal conditions. What are the early signs of Crohn's disease? Symptoms can develop gradually or suddenly.
Aspirin, ibuprofen, and certain antibiotics are a few of the medications that can trigger Crohn's flares. (Antibiotics change the balance of bacteria in the intestines, which can activate diarrhea even in people who do not have Crohn's, Sartor notes.)
Crohn's Life Expectancy: What's the Cap to It? According to research, the average life expectancy of an individual with Crohn's is shorter compared to those who do not have Crohn's. The average life expectancy for females is 78.4 years and for males, it is 75.5 years.
It may go undiagnosed for years, because symptoms usually develop gradually and it doesn't always affect the same part of the intestine. Other diseases can have the same symptoms as Crohn's disease. But doctors can diagnose Crohn's by doing a test that looks at the inside of the intestine and doing a biopsy.
Crohn's disease is a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive system. Inflammation can affect any part of the digestive system, from the mouth to the back passage. But it mostly occurs in the last section of the small intestine (ileum) or the large intestine (colon).
Almost 75,000 Australians have Crohn's disease or its sister IBD condition ulcerative colitis, with this number projected to increase to 100,000 by 2022, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia report. Both IBD conditions originate from an inflamed colon and rectum.
Compared with people who had the lowest inflammatory diet scores, people with the highest scores had a 51% higher risk for developing Crohn's disease.
Stress doesn't cause Crohn's disease, but it could make your symptoms worse.
There's currently no cure for Crohn's disease, but treatment can control or reduce the symptoms and help stop them coming back.
So much so, that a study in the February 2021 Inflammatory Bowel Diseases found that coffee had little to no association with Crohn's disease, though even those results were inconsistent. In either case, the high amount of caffeine in coffee can aggravate certain unpleasant Crohn's symptoms.
The symptoms can come on gradually, but they can also show up suddenly. And these can include diarrhea, fever, fatigue, abdominal pain and cramping, blood in your stool, mouth sores, reduced appetite and weight loss.
Intestinal endoscopy. Intestinal endoscopies are the most accurate methods for diagnosing Crohn's disease and ruling out other possible conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, diverticular disease, or cancer.
People Most at Risk of Developing Crohn's Disease
Studies have shown that the disease is most prevalent in adolescents and adults up to 30 years of age as well as in White people and Ashkenazi Jews. In recent years, the prevalence of Crohn's disease among Asians and Hispanics has also significantly increased.
Norovirus, a common infection that causes vomiting and diarrhea, is one of several viruses and bacteria thought to trigger disease onset in people with Crohn's disease, but the field does not know why.
The pain that Crohn's patients feel tends to be crampy. It often appears in the lower right abdomen but can happen anywhere along the digestive tract. “It depends on where that inflammatory process is happening,” says Nana Bernasko, DNP, gastroenterology expert with the American Gastroenterological Association.