Crohn's disease in Arabs

Abstract

Crohn's disease is widely described in the Western literature, but it has not been widely observed in the Middle Eastern community. We diagnosed Crohn's disease in seven Arabs, three whom were Saudi Nationals. Their mean age was 32.4 years (range, 18-40 years) and duration of symptoms varied from three months to ten years. The site of the disease was ileocolic in five patients and colonic in two. Mass lesions in the abdomen were seen in three patients. Four cases were diagnosed from histological specimens obtained at laparotomy and resection and the other three were diagnosed from colonoscopic biopsy specimens. Extraintestinal manifestations were found in three patients. Surgery alone was the treatment in two patients, whereas the remaining required medical therapy, mainly steroids, with or without surgery. We conclude that Crohn's disease does occur in the Arab population, but with milder systemic effects.