Epidemiology of Crohn's disease in Sicily: a hospital incidence study from 1987 to 1989. "The Sicilian Study Group of Inflammatory Bowel Disease".

An epidemiologic study of Crohn's disease was carried out in the Province of Palermo, Italy, between 1987 and 1989. The incidence of first hospitalization was prospectively evaluated in this period. A total of 103 patients (59 males, 44 females) were diagnosed. The standardized annual incidence was 2.7/100,000. The incidence was quite constant during the 3 years of the study (1987: 2.9/100,000; 1988: 2.4/100,000; 1989: 2.99/100,000). Incidence rates were slightly higher in men than in women. The disease had a bimodal age distribution in female (with peaks at age 20-29 and 60-69) and males (with peaks at age 30-39, 40-49). No cases were observed at age 0-9. The incidence of Crohn's disease in southern Italy is comparable to that reported in northern Europe.