An estimated one to two million Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel disease. (This wide statistical variation is due to the difficulty in diagnosing these disorders and because people in remission may not be identified.) It was thought that Crohn's disease was far less common than ulcerative colitis, but currently they are estimated to have about the same incidence. The number of people with Crohn's disease also appears to be increasing. Males and females are equally susceptible.
IBD is diagnosed most often between the ages of 15 and 40, but another lesser peak onset occurs between 50 and 80. About 2% of IBD cases appear in children below age 10; 30% occur in young people between the ages of 10 and 19. IBD often runs in families, and men and women are equally affected. Jewish people of European descent have a risk of IBD five times that of the general population. IBD seems to be more common among city than country dwellers and occurs more frequently in developed than in less developed nations, indicating that both genetic factors and environmental conditions, such as diet, may be involved in its development.
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