A high incidence of chronic inflammatory bowel disease in patients with Turner's syndrome.

Four new cases of chronic inflammatory bowel disease in a series of 135 adult patients with Turner's syndrome observed over an average period of 11 years are reported. The diagnosis in 2 of the patients was ulcerative colitis; the other 2 had clinical and histological features consistent with a diagnosis of Crohn's disease. The incidence is considerably higher than any reported frequency of new cases of inflammatory bowel disease in the general population. Previously reported cases are described and attention is drawn to the severity of the bowel disorder. An apparent association with a karyotype abnormality which includes a structurally abnormal X chromosome is noted.