Health and Wellness Blog

November is Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Month. Both diseases are types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which can involve either or both the small and large bowel.

Crohn’s disease occurs mainly in the large intestine (colon) and in a part of the small intestine called the ileum. It is not usually fatal, but there is no definitive cure. Medications and a good diet go a long way to controlling the symptoms of this disease. Unlike ulcerative colitis, Crohn's can't be completely cured by surgery.

What causes this autoimmune disease is unknown, although it may be viral or bacterial in origin. It runs in families and the main symptoms are abdominal pains and diarrhea  after eating. It comes and goes, and a person may go for months without a flare-up (during which there can be severe abdominal bleeding). It carries with it the increased risk of a number of diseases, including bowel obstruction, fistulas, arthritis and cancer of the intestine. (source)

Ulcerative colitis, another type of inflammatory bowel disease,  causes sores in the rectum and the lining of the large intestine. It is believed to be caused by the immune system overreacting to a virus, a bacterium, or a dietary or environmental substance in the intestinal wall. While it tends to occur in families, especially in people of Caucasian descent, people who live in cities are more at risk of developing the disease than those in rural areas. The main symptom is bloody diarrhea.
Dietary restrictions can help control flare-ups, but medication is also required. About a third of patients with this disease eventually need surgery because of bleeding or to prevent colon cancer. Removing the colon is the only known cure for this disease.

Overall, Canada has among the highest reported prevalence and incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases in the world. (Countries in more northerly latitudes have a higher occurrence of these diseases.) (source, page 34) Today, an estimated 112,000 Canadians have Crohn’s disease and another 88,500 Canadians have ulcerative colitis, for a total of 200,500 people or 0.60% of the population. (source, page 28)

While most people are diagnosed in their twenties or later (source, page 31), inflammatory bowel diseases can also occur in children. There are about 3,300 Canadians under the age of 20 with Crohn’s disease and another 1,600  with ulcerative colitis in Canada, for a total of 4,900 people. (source, page 34)

Irritable bowel syndrome is often mistaken for colitis. It affects about 20% of the population and is the second most frequent cause of lost days at work or school (after the common cold). It causes either constipation or diarrhea (or both), but it does not cause damage or increase the risk of cancer.

Donna MacLeod, for the Consumer Health Information Service at Toronto Public Library

Further reading

Canadian Medical Association.

• Crohn's disease. (June 2006) 
• Ulcerative colitis (October 2006)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (July 2006)

Canadian Society of Intestinal Research

• What is IBD? (undated)
• What is Crohn's disease? (undated)
• What is ulcerative colitis? (undated)

Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada

• Website
• The Burden of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in Canada. (September 13, 2008)

Mayo Clinic.

• Crohn's disease.  (September 2008) 
• Ulcerative colitis (May 2008)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (May 2008)
• Digestive system center (undated)