Incidence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

IBD affects millions of people throughout the world, but is more common in people who live in regions farther away from the equator (like North America, Europe, and Australia). Estimates from 1994 show 1 million cases in the United States alone. The disease most often develops during the second and third decades of life in both men and women. The average age of diagnosis is 27. A second, but much smaller, peak of new cases occur in people after age 65. Overall, women and men are equally affected by IBD. In the past, whites have been shown to have the highest risk for the disease, especially people of Jewish and European descent.