Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are the two most common inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) that involve diarrhea due to severe inflammation and swelling of the gastrointestinal tract. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), IBDs are a prevalent disease burden in the United States that costs more than $1.7 billion yearly. These severe conditions affect around one million Americans, with a relatively equal split of diagnosed cases. IBDs have no cure and are chronic conditions that ebb and flow over a lifespan of chronic care and maintenance.
Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease, also known as regional enteritis, ileitis or granulomatous colitis, is an incurable and chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Common symptoms of Crohn's disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, are cramping, abdominal pain, diarrhea and fever; rectal bleeding; and appetite suppression and weight loss. Joint, skin, eye and liver problems are possible. Children diagnosed with Crohn's may experience serious secondary symptoms or consequences in terms of delayed growth and development.
Several risk factors exist. Most cases are diagnosed during teens to 30 years of age, with another high incidence period from 50 to 70 years of age, and it occurs equally among men and women. Heredity and ethnicity also play a role. There appears to be a genetic link that increases risk in people of Jewish descent. Lastly, there is a higher incidence of Crohn's in smokers and people who live in industrialized countries.
According to the CDC, the following features are specific to Crohn's: (1) While it can occur anywhere in the digestive system, it usually affects the ileum (end of the small intestine) as well as the first section of the large intestine. (2) In Crohn's, all layers of the intestine can be inflamed. (3) Diseased regions are discontinuous in that healthy tissue may be found between patches of the diseased areas. (4) Complications are common. For example, the most common complication is a bowel obstruction, and the CDC estimates that up to three-fourths of sufferers may need surgery at some point.
Ulcerative Colitis
This IBD has associated ulcers that may bleed. Symptoms are similar to Crohn's; however, some patients experience only mild symptoms. According to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, inflammation of this disease differs from Crohn's in several ways: (1) It only attacks the large bowel (colon) and rectum. (2) Its presentation is continuous with no random healthy tissue. (3) Ulcerative colitis involves only the intestinal lining of tissue. (4) Complications are less frequent.
Risk factors are similar to Crohn's except that people tend to be diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in their 30s. Also, ulcerative colitis is found more frequently in males during their fifth and sixth decades of life than in females.
Conclusion
While both are severe and painful inflammatory bowel diseases, it appears that Crohn's, with its frequency of complications and likelihood of interventional surgery, has the potential to be more difficult to manage. Sufferers truly must learn how to live with these chronic diseases.
