CROHNS-DISEASE IN THE JEWISH POPULATION OF TEL-AVIV-YAFO - EPIDEMIOLOGIC AND CLINICAL ASPECTS

Abstract

A survey of the incidence and prevalence of Crohn''s disease in the Jewish population of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa [Israel] was carried out from 1970-1976. The annual incidence rate was 1.28 and the prevalence was 12.31/105 population. The prevalence of 16.69/105 population among Ashkenazi Jews was significantly higher than that in non-Ashkenazi Jews, 4.19/105 population. Crohn''s disease is significantly less common in Tel-Aviv than outside Israel. The complication, surgery and mortality rates are less marked than those previously reported. Infammatory bowel disease in general is less common and possibly less severe in Tel-Aviv than in the USA and Western Europe. The strikingly higher prevalence in the Ashkenazi community, especially in the Israeli-born population, suggests a hereditary predisposition. The apparent differences among Ashkenazi Jews in various parts of the world may relate to environmental factors.