Crohn’s Disease Threatens Any Part of Gastrointestinal Tract from Mouth to Anus

Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus. (image: Wikipedia)

SEOUL, Sep. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Surprisingly enough, it appears that patients in their 20s and 30s with Crohn’s disease are soaring high in number.

On September 18, according to Congressman Kim Jae-won of Health and Welfare Committee who analyzed data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, last year the number of patients in their 20s and 30s was 4,711 (29.2%) and 3,620 (22.4%), respectively, out of the total of 16,138.

And for the past five years, the number of patients in their 30s has increased by 47% and that of patients in their 20s has increased by 41%, which indicates that the increasing rates are the fastest, compared to the other age groups.

Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus.

Symptoms often include abdominal pain, weight loss, and diarrhea. Once this disease occurs, it lasts for one’s life time. There is a likelihood that those with the disease die from complications like intestinal stenosis, fistula, and tresis.

“Unless it is not diagnosed at its early phase, you are destined to take it for your life time with its complications. So, if you have lost your weight due to chronic diarrhea, you should take a medical checkup to determine whether or not you have Crohn’s disease,” stressed Congressman Kim.

“Although the causes of the disease are yet to be found, you need to reduce the intake of fast and processed food since it has increased along with food culture westernized. It is said that cigarette smokers are two times more likely to develop Crohn’s disease than nonsmokers, so you’d better stay away from smoking to protect you from the disease,” he added.  

By Eugene Yu (eugene@koreabizwire.com)