Crohn’s disease in the elderly

Ruth Stalnikowicz*, Rami Eliakim, Rim Diab, Daniel Rachmilewitz

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

We compared eleven patients in whom symptoms of Crohn's disease appeared at age ≥65 with a younger group in whom symptoms had appeared earlier. Only 64% of the older patients were initially recognized as having Crohn's disease, as compared with 96% of the younger patients even though clinical characteristics and initial response to medical treatment were similar in both groups. A higher rate of complications occurred in the older group and follow-up data showed that they had higher mortality and a greater need for continuous treatment. We suggest that awareness of Crohn's disease in the elderly is less than in the young; the diagnosis is more often missed despite the similarity of the clinical features to those of younger patients.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)411-415
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Clinical Gastroenterology
Volume11
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1989
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Crohn’s disease
  • Elderly

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