Later Development of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the Healthy Spouse of a Patient

Abstract

To the Editor: The increasing familial incidence of ulcerative colitis and especially Crohn's disease has directed attention to possible genetic influences in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, as reviewed elsewhere.^{1 , 2} The occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease in family members living apart for long periods is consistent with a genetically mediated vulnerability. Nevertheless, nongenetic environmental mechanisms (e.g., a common family exposure to a "slow virus") also require consideration. The appearance of inflammatory bowel disease under circumstances of prolonged close contact or exposure presumably to a common source of infection, as in husband and wife, is infrequent. At least eight . . .