Ulcerative Colitis: What? Who? Why?
What is Ulcerative Colitis?
Ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, is a chronic
condition of the large intestine. Characterized by
inflammation and ulceration of the inner most lining of the colon,
ulcerative colitis sufferers experience diarrhea and abdominal pain.
Ulcerative colitis differs from Crohn’s disease in that it
only
affects the large intestine and the rectum. Crohn’s
disease effects all layers of tissue, whereas ulcerative colitis only
affects the inner most lining called the colon mucosa. The
inflammation typically occurs in the rectum and lower colon, but can
sometimes involve the entire colon.
Who gets Ulcerative Colitis?
Worldwide people suffer from ulcerative colitis but it is most common
in the United States, England and Northern Europe. It is a
rarity in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America.
It is more common in Caucasians, especially of Jewish descent, than
those
of African heritage.
Symptoms usually begin appearing during adolescence and early
adulthood, but can also occur in children or later in life.
Studies have shown that close to 20% of people diagnosed with
ulcerative colitis have a close relative with an inflammatory bowel
disease. Research continues but there still does not appear
to be any clear cut pattern to this inheritance.
Strangely enough, a smoker’s risks double for developing
Crohn’s disease but are only half as likely to
develop ulcerative colitis.
Why? What is the cause of ulcerative colitis?
So far researchers have not been able to determine the cause of
ulcerative colitis. Both ulcerative colitis and
Crohn’s disease are caused by abnormal activation of the
immune system in the intestines. This abnormal activation
causes inflammation. The activation of the immune
system is only supposed to occur when your body needs to fight foreign
invaders.
With ulcerative colitis patients it is believed that when the immune
system is ‘turned on’ it does not properly
‘turn off’ at the right time.
This leads to chronic inflammation and triggers the symptoms of an IBD.
Ulcerative colitis is not caused by stress or sensitivity to certain
foods. They can however trigger symptoms in some people.