A group of 152 patients with a verified diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (including haemorrhagic proctitis) was compared with a control group with an identical sex ratio, age, and social class distribution. All patients attended an ulcerative colitis out-patient clinic, and had been examined and followed by the members of the team. By the use of questionnaires information was gathered concerning familial incidence of the following diseases: ulcerative colitis, regional ileitis, cancer of the colon and rectum, allergic diseases of the immediate type (bronchial asthma, urticaria, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis), diseases presumably caused by delayed hypersensitivity (erythema nodosum), or auto-allergy (rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylarthritis). Eight families with more than one case of ulcerative colitis were found in the patient group (5.3 per cent) compared to only one case in the control group (0.7 per cent). This difference is significant. No cases of regional ileitis were observed, either in the patient group or in the control group. Cancer of the colon and rectum did not occur significantly more often among the relatives of patients with ulcerative colitis. The preponderance of urticaria and allergic rhinitis in the ulcerative colitis families and the even distribution of rheumatoid arthritis, erythema nodosum, and ankylosing spondylarthritis in the two groups compared tends to support the hypothesis that an allergic pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis is of the immediate type.
BONNEVIE, O., RIIS, P. &' ANTHONISEN, P. An Epidemiological study of Ulcerative Colitis in Copenhagen County. S c a d . J. Gastroent. 3,432-438, 1968.During the years 1961-1967, 310 patients with ulcerative colitis (including isolated proctitis) from Copenhagen County and Gentofte Municipality were examined and treated in hospital, the great majority at the Ulcerative Colitis Clinic of the County. At the end of the period, 253 of the patients were still alive in the County, which gives a prevalence of 44.1 per 100,OOO inhabitants in the area. Considering the 231 patients only, in whom ulcerative colitis was diagnosed for the first time 1961-1966, the incidence of the disease averaged 7.3 per 100,OOO inhabitants per year. The incidence did not alter significantly during the period. By April 1967, 19 of the ulcerative colitis patients had died, 14 from the disease and its complications, five from other causes. The mortality averaged 0.6 per 100, OOO inhabitants per year. In a following publication this problem will be treated using a different technique.
Key-words: Colon; ulcerative colitis; epidemiology 0. Bonnevie, M. D., Gentofte Hospital, Hellerup, Denmark Scand J Gastroenterol Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University of Newcastle on 01/08/15 For personal use only. 1961-1967 Copenhagen County 0.6 per 100,OOO inhabitants per year Present study Scand J Gastroenterol Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University of Newcastle on 01/08/15 For personal use only.
183-192.Scand J Gastroenterol Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University of Newcastle on 01/08/15For personal use only.
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