발병 연령에 따른 궤양성 대장염의 임상적 특성

Abstract

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.