Korean J Gastroenterol.
2001 Mar;37(3):196-202.
Characteristics of Ulcerative Colitis According to the Age of Onset
Abstract
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BACKGROUND/AIMS: Ulcerative colitis (UC) exhibits a bimodality in age-specific incidence rates, with a first peak in the young age and a second peak in the old age. We attempted to determine whether UC actually behaves differently in the elderly compared with the young.
METHODS
Patients with UC were divided into two groups (early vs. late onset) by the onset age of 40.
RESULTS
Incidence rate reached a peak in the forth decade in female patients, whereas it showed a bimodal age distribution with a first peak in the third decade and a second peak in fifth decade in male patients. Symptom duration before diagnosis was longer in the patients with late-onset UC than in the patients with early-onset UC (p value<0.05). There were no significant differences in the extent of lesion, the positive rate of serum anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody, the disease activity, the frequency of admission, the use of steroid, and concern about the disease between the patients with early and late-onset UC.
CONCLUSIONS
Age and sex distribution in this study were similar to those in other countries, and a bimodal age distribution was noted in males. The late-onset patients had longer duration from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis than the early-onset patients. However, there was no significant difference in clinical characteristics between the patients with early-onset UC and the patients with late-onset UC.
