Prevent Disease.com - Birthday Linked to Crohn's Disease



		Birthday Linked to Crohn's Disease Excerpt By Keith Mulvihill, Reuters Health NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Scientists in Denmark report that children born during the month of August are more likely to develop Crohn's disease, a chronic bowel disorder in which patients suffer from bouts of diarrhea, severe pain, nausea and destruction of portions of the intestine. While surgery and drug therapy can ease the symptoms of Crohn's, there is currently no cure for the illness. ``We found a seasonal pattern in month of birth with a peak in August, which provides some evidence that Crohn's disease in childhood may, to some extent, be a result of infections in utero or early childhood,'' lead investigator Dr. Henrik Toft Sorensen of Aarhus and Aalborg University in Aarhus Denmark told Reuters Health. In the study, the team of researchers assessed the frequency of Crohn's disease in people born throughout Denmark between 1977 and 1992. The findings are published in the October 20th issue of the British Medical Journal. Earlier studies have suggested an association between early infections and the development of Crohn's disease later in life, but other studies have failed to show such an association, explained Sorensen. ``Our study provides more evidence for the hypothesis that early infections are of importance, and furthermore, the results from our study suggest that the highest risk occurs with birth month in the second half of the year, and not as suggested in another study in the first half,'' he said. People born during the month of February had the lowest rate of the illness, the study indicates. The researchers are unable to offer an explanation for the finding at this time, although it appears that infectious agents linked to Crohn's disease include some that are common at particular times of the year. ``Unfortunately, our data did not allow us to point out any specific kind of infectious agent, and we do not know the exact period during pregnancy that might be critical,'' said Sorensen. ``Therefore more data and studies are needed before we can warn pregnant women against specific infections in certain periods during pregnancy,'' he added. About 1,000,000 Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which includes Crohn's disease, according to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2001;323:907 Reference Source 89 For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".