Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 27, 2026
Chronic Salmonella Infection Induced Intestinal Fibrosis
Published on: September 22, 2019
Prognosis of Crohn's disease with onset in childhood or adolescence
Insights
Crohn's disease starting in adolescence is a chronic condition. Many young patients require surgery and experience long-term health issues, impacting their quality of life.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease.
- Early-onset CD (before age 21) presents unique challenges.
- Long-term outcomes for pediatric CD patients require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the long-term clinical course and outcomes of Crohn's disease diagnosed in patients under 21 years old.
- To identify factors influencing disease severity and patient well-being over time.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective long-term follow-up study of 522 patients diagnosed with Crohn's disease between 1955 and 1974 with onset before age 21.
- Data collection included patient demographics, disease characteristics, surgical history, mortality, and self-reported health status.
- Follow-up was achieved for 98.4% of the cohort, with a mean follow-up of 7.7 years.
Main Results:
- 69% of patients underwent surgery, and 2.4% died.
- 67% of survivors reported suboptimal health.
- Colonic disease location was associated with greater disability compared to small intestine disease.
- Adolescent onset (ages 16-20) was more common than childhood onset.
Conclusions:
- Crohn's disease with onset in individuals under 21 is a chronic, often debilitating condition.
- Adolescents are more frequently affected than younger children.
- Surgical intervention is common, and long-term morbidity significantly impacts quality of life despite low mortality.
Abstract:
A long-term follow-up study of 522 patients (1955-1974) with onset of Crohn's disease under age 21 was conducted. Follow-up information was obtained for 513 (98.4%) of the patients. The mean follow-up for the entire series was 7.7 years with a greater than five-year follow-up for 67% of patients. Nearly 60% of the patients were ages 16--20 at onset of disease. Operation had been performed for 69% of the patients and 13 (2.4%) had died. Among the survivors 67% considered themselves to be in suboptimal health. Although clinical features and complications varied considerably with anatomic disease location, colonic disease generally caused more disability than small intestine location of disease. Age at onset did not correlate with clinical severity except for presence of growth retardation. Thus, this long-term follow-up study demonstrated the chronic nature of Crohn's disease with onset under age 21. It also emphasized that the disease more commonly affected adolescents than children, that operation was required in about two thirds of the patients, and that, while mortality was low, morbidity from the disease continued for many years.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Chronic Bowel Disorders: Introduction
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder affecting the gastrointestinal tract. The distinctive feature is recurrent abdominal pain associated with altered bowel movements, manifesting as constipation, diarrhea, or fluctuating between both. The...
01:21Drugs for Treatment of Crohn's Disease in IBD Using Glucocorticoids
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease II: Crohn's Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease, commonly known as IBD, refers to a collection of disorders that lead to persistent inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two types of IBD are ulcerative colitis, which impacts the colon, and Crohn's disease, which can involve any part of the gastrointestinal segment.
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a chronic, systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that predominantly affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is marked by transmural...
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Diagnostic Studies and Management I-Nutritional Therapy
Diagnostic studies
A colonoscopy is the definitive screening test, distinguishing ulcerative colitis from other colon diseases with similar symptoms. During a colonoscopy test, inflamed mucosa with exudate ulcerations can be observed, and biopsies are taken to determine the histologic characteristics of the colonic...
01:25Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Crohn's Disease
01:20Inflammatory Bowel Disease IV: Clinical Manifestations