How common is ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease in pediatric patients?
Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are relatively uncommon problems in both children and adults. The incidence or number of new cases occurring each year appears to be increasing more for Crohn’s disease than for ulcerative colitis. In a group of approximately 100,000 children age 15 years or younger, it is estimated that approximately 2 or 3 of them will develop Crohn’s disease each year. However in a group of 100,000 children age 15-19, the rate of developing Crohn’s disease increases to 16 new cases per year. The chance of developing ulcerative colitis in childhood and adolescence is less than the chance of developing Crohn’s disease, with an incidence of 2 to 10 new cases per 100,000 population per year. The teenage years are one of the most likely times for inflammatory bowel disease to be diagnosed. The other most common time is between 30-40 years of age. Both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are more common in certain families. In large studies it has been shown
