Monday, January 9, 2012

IBD is Becoming a Worldwide Disease

Gastroenterology, the journal of the American Gastrointestinal Association, released a study recently that shows how cases of IBD are emerging and spreading.  Interestingly, IBD (this typically comprises both Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis) are gaining in prevalence in Western societies and is rapidly becoming a global disease.  As regions, North America and Europe led the way with the highest prevalence of IBD.  The country taking the top slot for prevalence of IBD? Canada.  This surprised me a bit, but I'm not sure why.

Here's a chart that was included with the research that shows the growth in incidence and prevalence of Crohn's Disease:

Over the decades, the prevalence of Crohn's has grown from such a small amount in North America to being very prevalent.  I was diagnosed with Crohn's a little over 13 years ago.  (Useless trivia, my diagnosis came the same day Darryl Strawberry was diagnosed with colon cancer).  At the time, I'd never heard of it.  Over the years, I experienced it becoming more common.  It's not unusual when I tell someone that I have Crohn's to have them say, "Did you know that so and so also has it?" While I most certainly don't wish this disease on anyone, I do appreciate having people around to commiserate with about its ups and downs.

I've always been told that there is no known cause or cure for Crohn's. This research and the maps fascinate me--with IBD growing rapidly in westernized nations, I have to wonder how diet and other factors are contributing...and what steps I should be taking to help minimize my symptoms. I've long intended to visit a nutritionist to see if changing my diet would help my symptoms.  Good intentions, but I've never followed through.  Bad patient!!  I've read enough literature about diet and Crohn's to know that chances are good that a nutritionist would recommend I give up a lot of the foods I really like...the guilty pleasure foods, the stress relieving foods (I've got chocolate chip cookies in the oven as I write this).  I'm not sure I have the will power to do this.  But, I also know that it could very well help me find a better, more energetic quality of life.  So, I need to quit making excuses and investigate this, and soon.

1 comment:

  1. Liz,
    I recently had an episode of IBD, but unlike most patients, my first attack resulted in a ruptured colon, turned septic and emergency surgery with the outcome being a colostomy. I know that my experience is not typical, but I have also met others with similar situations. I've done a lot of reading about diet and how it affects the colon, and oddly enough almost all the websites differ on what foods cause problems. I am going to meet with a medical dietician to see what she advises.

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