The incidence of IBD in Copenhagen increased noticeably during the last decades. Time from onset of symptoms until diagnosis decreased markedly, extent of CD was related to age at diagnosis, and the risk of surgery was low in UC.

No abstract

Despite variations in the presentation and initial course of IBD during the last 5 decades, its long-term prognosis remained fairly stable. Treatment of IBD changed recently, and future studies should address the effect of these changes on long-term prognosis.

Among Danish patients with CD and UC belonging to an unselected cohort, disease occurrence was found to be associated both with well-known factors such as smoking and appendectomy, and with more debated factors including breastfeeding, tonsillectomy, childhood vaccinations, childhood infections, and dietary intake of fibres and sugar.