Crohn's Disease

Symptoms

Patients with Crohn's disease will have periods where they have few or no symptoms (remissions), but flare-ups are common. Symptoms of mild Crohn's disease include no more than four diarrheal bowel movements per day with little or no abdominal pain and maintenance of a normal weight. Severe cases may involve six or more diarrheal bowel movements a day along with severe abdominal pain, weight loss, fever and bloody stools. Complications, which may disappear when the bowel disease is treated or may need to be treated separately, are not uncommon.

The cause of Crohn's disease is unknown, although the immune response and certain genetic and environmental factors may play a role. Fifteen to 20 percent of people who have Crohn's disease have a parent, sibling or child who also has the disease. It can occur at any age, but is most likely to develop during adolescence or young adulthood. Most people diagnosed with this disease are between the ages of 15 and 35.

An equal number of men and women have Crohn's disease. It can strike any ethnic group, but white people have the highest risk. People of Jewish European descent are twice as likely to have Crohn's disease than other Caucasians. Crohn's disease occurs more often among people living in cities and industrial nations, and it is possible that environmental factors, including a diet high in fat or refined foods, may be a factor.