Another reason why I "can't have Crohn's"

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Carrie630

Carrie630

The Prettiest Princess
Joined
May 27, 2011
Messages
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I made this a separate thread I'm curious about this.

More than one person has said recently that Crohn's is a Jewish disease and non-Jews don't get it. As in, "well you're not Jewish so you don't have Crohn's, it's probably diverticulitis or something." (according to the doc its not diverticulitis and this person is clearly not a doctor but anyway...) I was a bit offended by that last comment because it felt similar to, "HIV and AIDS is a Gay Disease so if you're not gay you won't get it" which is entirely not true and marginalizes the group of people being referenced.

Obviously it affects more than just Jewish people, but I was doing some reading that says they are more likely to be affected. I wonder how true this is. How many of you are Jewish or of Jewish descent? It seems like soooo many people have it that it's hard to believe most are Jewish. Has a doctor ever brought this up when working on your diagnosis? what's up with that? just a rumor based on old fashioned ideas of Crohn's?
 
I've heard this before and read about it as well.
I find myself wishing it were a "fact" sometimes as this could mean I could blame my daughters disease on my ex; her dad ! LOL
I wish it were that easy...;/
He is of "jewish descent" though and it has actually crossed my mind quite a bit when it comes to CD, but no one else in his side of the family has IBD that we know of- only on mine and we are mostly dutch/german.
 
I have Dutch/German heritage too - ALTHOUGH - my Mother is from Finland - and SHE is the one in the family that has asymptomatic Crohns' (according to her doctor in the past couple of years!)
 
I am not Jewish nor am I of Jewish decent. I am however mostly German but I am the only one in my family to have Crohns.
 
Tiny subset of people so far, but nearly everyone has mentioned Dutch/German. I am primarily Irish/French with lesser Dutch and German, but no Jewish that I know of.
 
K, here is a twist. Why Jews? 1st I was brought up believing I was Jewish, my mother was apparently Mormon and went against the flock and married a ... Jew! :O I am 43yrs old and didnt learn this until 1year ago! But I have it; so is it the 'Stress' of living as a Jew? You know we worry about Everything! (True) or is it a genetic makeup? I have never heard about it being more prevalent there, but I also am new to acceptance that I have this, (Will be confirmed medically 9/22) - (I hope)
 
My Dr told me it was an Auto Immune Deficiency.. And that it attacks different people differently. Like for example my father has diabetes, I do not. No risk other than him. I have Crohns, he does not. But we share the AID. So in my dad it manifested in the Diabetes and in me it is Crohns. Has anyone else been told this?
 
Gidget, its supposed to be the genetics. Here's a quote I found, "Research has shown evidence of a genetic predisposition to chronic IDB among Jewish individuals of Eastern European descent." I guess it's primarily Ashkenazi Jewish people.

Here's a link I found about issues specifically for that ancestral line.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Health/genetics.html

Since they are eastern european you would think there is some cross-over with other eastern europeans.
 
it is actually only a subset of jews called Ashkenazi Jews. however there is believe to often be a sampling bias since there was also a larger per portion doing research. Dr. Crohn's himself was an Ashkenazi jew.
I'm an Ashkenazi Jew but have no relatives with Crohn's.
A gene related for AS (a crohn's related arthritis) i believe is more common among Scandinavians i believe

I know that Crohn's is higher in developed countries then developing countries, but i also noticed when looking up how to spell Ashkenazi, i noticed that Wikipedia listed that "Crohn's disease is more common in northern countries, and shows a higher preponderance in northern areas of the same country." which is the signature of a virus. not to get off topic.
 
Holy WoW, I guess I just assumed I got a lucky # w/the Crohns. And that sounds like it is right. I know very little about my Mothers family other than the Bombshell.. :LOL I only learned that by making a F/B memorial page for her after she passed and her estranged family contacted me.. Sry O/T too.. ;( I will look up the descents of that group, They like everyone else came from 'Somehwere' ; )
 
The Mormon settlers were the first Americans of northern European descent to develop agricultural practices that were adapted to the arid West... Quoted from People of the Colorado Plateau.
Looks like they got me no matter which Religious practice it is! :LOL
 
I wonder how far back they mean, when they say "jewish descent"... Jews have roamed europe for ages. They've been in germany. They've been in the UK. I think it's kinda hard to tell if your of jewish descent, because jewish people permeated every culture so much before the establishment of the state of israel.
 
Nchuleftingth part of why jewish can be used as a distinct ethnicity in genetic terms is because until recently they was virtually no inter marriage and while they were in European cities they were kept separate.
 
Huh, something else to think about. I came across an article about this a while back but didn't bother to read it. As far as I know, I am not Jewish and I have Crohn's. So didn't apply to my situation.
However, the Jewish faith requires a diet that has served those of their faith well through the centuries. I wonder if that may have something to do with it. Crohn's (like someone above said) is found in developed countries. Developed countries tend to be cleaner, have better healthcare and better diet. All things historically found within the Jewish faith.
Pay no attention to my ramblings. Just kind of thinking out loud.
 
Ahhh Michelle! I think you are onto something there! Although my Dr is pretty positive it is simply luck of the draw... Who feels Lucky today! (How do I enable the emoticons? I Love those!)
 
Interesting thoughts, Michelle. Just one more reason for me not to want to keep kosher!

BTW, I'm Jewish, but I converted. I took my conversion so seriously I even developed a "Jewish" disease!!!

- Amy
 
outlier said:
Nchuleftingth part of why jewish can be used as a distinct ethnicity in genetic terms is because until recently they was virtually no inter marriage and while they were in European cities they were kept separate.
Click to expand...

Thank you outlier! I had no idea. :)


ameslouise said:
Interesting thoughts, Michelle. Just one more reason for me not to want to keep kosher!

BTW, I'm Jewish, but I converted. I took my conversion so seriously I even developed a "Jewish" disease!!!

- Amy
Click to expand...


So you converted TO judaism? I asked an elder once "what does it take to become a jew?"... He told me: "Why the hell would you want to be a jew? Everyone wants to kill us!" ... I laughed.
 
I am Greek to the bone, coming from a line of Greeks which goes back 20 generations on both sides. My ancestors go as far as the byzantine empire and they were all Greek even then. I have checked my family tree (my father and mother made one a few years ago) and there isn't any mixed marriage in the family over the last 100+ years.

And I have Crohns So I am the Super Crohnnie Greek :rof::dance:

hehehe
 
Back before I was diagnosed, I was reading up on crohns. Not so much reading, but skimming. I saw something about it being a "jewish disease" so I dismissed it. When my doctor mentioned it could be crohns, I was like, but I'm not jewish. At all... He laughed at me. He said that crohns is a little more prevelant in the jewish community, but it is not a "jewish disease." Not all jews get it, and alot of non-jews get it. So that makes sense.

I'm Irish and Swiss. And I definitely have crohns. As do other people in my family. I think it can hit pretty much anyone, although it's alot more common in north america. Who knows. All I know is that I have it, I'll have it for life, my kids may get it, and they'll have it for life. I don't have alot of hope for a cure, to be honest. But I'm a pretty negative person, unfortunately. A cure would be lovely, but I don't see them developing one in my lifetime. And that's ok.
 
It fascinating to me that we known all sorts of disease that show up in the Ashkenaze community thanks to a sampling bias, but African American men drop dead at 62 and everyone holds up there hands likes it's a complete mystery.
While knowing the genetics of disease can be useful, I always wonder if there are more useful things. When we forget people get disease not ethnic groups or genders, more people can be helped.
 
I am Greek, French, and ScotchIrish. I also have Mediteranean Anemia. Crohn's was discovered by Dr. Crohn in a Jewish community. So in a sense it is a Jewish disease ;).

Wendy
 
Polish on my mom's, German/English on my dad's. Dad has Barrett's esophagus and chronic kidney stones (massive size). Mom is dx'd with IBS, Sjogren's syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and is being treated (but hasn't received an official dx) for fibromyalgia. It would appear the Polish gave me my auto-immune issues!
 
My mother's German/Jew and Irish, my father is from Norway. My husband's family also has Crohn's and he's German/Jew, Polish on his father's side and Navajo, Mexican, and Mongolian on his mother's side.

I guess maybe some races may be more prone than others, but IMHO it's easy to make statistics say ALOT of things that could have numerous other factors involved, too.
 
"Race and Ethnicity

IBD also appears to affect certain ethnic groups more than others. For example, American Jews of European descent are four to five times more likely to develop IBD than the general population. IBD has long been thought of as a disease predominantly affecting whites; the prevalence rate (the number of people with a disease at a given time) among whites is 149 per 100,000. However, there has been a steady increase in reported cases of both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis among African Americans. The prevalence rates among Hispanics and Asians are lower than those for whites and African Americans."

"Who Gets IBD?

Researchers have been working actively for some time to find a link to specific genes that control the transmission of this illness. Recently, an important breakthrough was achieved when the first gene for Crohn's disease was identified by a team of IBD investigators. The researchers were able to pick out an abnormal mutation or alteration in a gene known as NOD2/CARD 15.. This mutation, which limits the ability to recognize bacteria as harmful, occurs twice as frequently in Crohn's patients as in the general population. There is no way to predict which, if any, family members will develop Crohn's disease. The data further suggest that more than one gene may be involved. Thanks to new technologies, researchers are closing in on the additional genes that may be involved in IBD." http://www.ccfa.org/info/about/crohns

Simply because some races are more prone to the disease does not mean they are the only ones to get it. It is in our genes though but even if you are related to those who are more prone to the disease does not mean you will get it.

Edit: No I am not of Jewish decent.
 
I am of Irish French descent. I also beleive it is more Auto immune related -
mom - hypothyroid
brother - borderline hypothyroid
sister - Grave's disease(overactive thyroid), Crohn's, vitiligo
me- hypothyroid, Crohn's, dermatitis, IBS

All of which have a significant auto immune system gone wacky component. Now I am just waiting for something else to go out of wack!!!
 
Very interesting everyone. Crohn's disease goes back very far in family, before it was known as Crohn's. It was put in some family papers, 'unknown disease of the intestines'. But not any Jewish on either side.

Off topic, but I have wondered if maybe there are more cases of Crohn's in developed lands than non because they just don't have it diagnosed. I know that they have tons of intestinal diseases because of unclean water, parasites, etc. And maybe it is brushed off due to that. Just a little thought in my head! :)
 
I am 100% Jewish. My mom has Crohn's too and the fact about Ashkenazi Jews is something I've known for a while since both sides of my family are of European Jewish descent.

But honestly, I've never thought of it as a "Jewish Disease". The patterns for Crohn's are evolving all over the world, so while it is common in Jews of European descent to have it, that does not remotely mean that other people do not have Crohn's too. I get sort of bothered when people stereotype this as a Jewish disease.
 
outlier said:
I know that Crohn's is higher in developed countries then developing countries, but i also noticed when looking up how to spell Ashkenazi, i noticed that Wikipedia listed that "Crohn's disease is more common in northern countries, and shows a higher preponderance in northern areas of the same country." not to get off topic.
Click to expand...

*ahem*
Alberta, Canada, anyone?

:lol:
 
outlier said:
it is actually only a subset of jews called Ashkenazi Jews. however there is believe to often be a sampling bias since there was also a larger per portion doing research. Dr. Crohn's himself was an Ashkenazi jew.
I'm an Ashkenazi Jew but have no relatives with Crohn's.
A gene related for AS (a crohn's related arthritis) i believe is more common among Scandinavians i believe

I know that Crohn's is higher in developed countries then developing countries, but i also noticed when looking up how to spell Ashkenazi, i noticed that Wikipedia listed that "Crohn's disease is more common in northern countries, and shows a higher preponderance in northern areas of the same country." which is the signature of a virus. not to get off topic.
Click to expand...

Interesting Outlier! I am German Jew, Irish and Norwegien, and I also have AS. But my close friend is Mexican, and he also has AS, so go figure. I think genes go back many, many generations and we usually only can verify ethnicity back as far as grandparents. My husband looks like he is all Mexican but his father is a blonde blue eyed German Jew. If there's that much variation genetically in something as superficial as skin,hair, and eye color you can only imagine how complicated it gets when it comes to disease process.

The person who mentioned no definite diagnosis, just mention of intestinal problems is also very significant. No one in my family knew of anyone who had Crohn's, but when I mentioned fistulas as a complication, I found out my great uncle had them.
 
Well double whammy here and I don't mean Sarah and Matt. :ylol:

No Jewish decendency that I am aware of and we sure as hell are a long way from the north of the northern climes!

No offense intended...but both of my children have biblical names and they are both 0 negative blood type...wasn't Jesus 0 negative? :eek2: That might be the link!

Dusty. :ybiggrin:
 
Im in NZ and we apparently have the highest incidence of crohns in the world.
Our population base is either the native Maori or British, Scottish, Welsh or Irish descent. There is no family history of bowel or digestive upsets.
I have my 1st colonoscopy for a diagnosis tomorrow ;-)
 
I am Mexican and when I went to a doctor he said that I had IBS and that chrons was not at all likely in my case because my symptoms are not severe enough to even get a colonscopy and second because I am not white. He said in his 30 years of being a doctor he has never diagnosed a latino with chrons disease. He said if I was of jewish descent then he would look more into it. I thought that was very weird that he said that and I looked it up. My dad had severe IBS with mucus and blood when he was a child and now has it very mildly. He has had every test known to man as far as digestive disease testing and nothing has ever been found. My aunts all have mild IBS as well. I was diagnosed by this doctor with hispanic panic syndrome AKA IBS and fibromyalgia. I have also been diagnosed with somatization disorder which is the same treatment. I hope I dont offend anyone but I was really upset when I found that Jewish people have this disease more than the general population because Jewish people have suffered so much, it just seems very unfair. I read an article recently that stated that Mexican people are very healthy and that they live longer. We party for everything, my mom would say that we fart and we have party lol I mention this because someone had said earlier that jewish peope worry an stress and that could be a possible explanation. I find all of this interesting and I like reasearching all of these thing even though my major is in social work, my boyfriend said I should be a doctor because I know so much about illnesses especially HIV/AIDS.
 
I am 100% Ashekenazik and I have Crohn's. However, my brother in law's sister, who is not Jewish at all (she is German and English) also has Crohn's. I read somewhere that Crohn's was basically absent from cultures that don't consume dairy products, but as those cultures add dairy to the diet that they start finding Crohn's. That would make a lot of sense why it is so common among Jews, because of dietary laws, we tend to consume a lot more dairy than others (at least that is my personal experience). It could also be why China and Japan are starting to experience Crohn's, because dairy is being introduced to the diets there.
 
I'll throw my genetic makeup in the mix - my Mother is from Finland (and was recently told SHE has asymptomatic Crohns!).....my fathers' side of the family is of German descent.
 
Dayz said:
I am Mexican and when I went to a doctor he said that I had IBS and that chrons was not at all likely in my case because my symptoms are not severe enough to even get a colonscopy and second because I am not white. He said in his 30 years of being a doctor he has never diagnosed a latino with chrons disease. He said if I was of jewish descent then he would look more into it. I thought that was very weird that he said that and I looked it up. My dad had severe IBS with mucus and blood when he was a child and now has it very mildly. He has had every test known to man as far as digestive disease testing and nothing has ever been found. My aunts all have mild IBS as well. I was diagnosed by this doctor with hispanic panic syndrome AKA IBS and fibromyalgia. I have also been diagnosed with somatization disorder which is the same treatment. I hope I dont offend anyone but I was really upset when I found that Jewish people have this disease more than the general population because Jewish people have suffered so much, it just seems very unfair. I read an article recently that stated that Mexican people are very healthy and that they live longer. We party for everything, my mom would say that we fart and we have party lol I mention this because someone had said earlier that jewish peope worry an stress and that could be a possible explanation. I find all of this interesting and I like reasearching all of these thing even though my major is in social work, my boyfriend said I should be a doctor because I know so much about illnesses especially HIV/AIDS.
Click to expand...

LOL "hispanic panic syndrome":ylol2:-My husband totally cracked up when I read that part to him!

These GI docs have got to stop focusing on what race we are and address the SYMPTOMS we experience. I find it so scary that so many of us can walk into the GI's office and if we don't meet the racial profile of Crohn's (or at least we don't LOOK like we do), that it is just dismissed as a possibility!:ywow:
 
Hear, hear!! Because of my dark olive skin, and very dark curly hair, I have been asked if I am Spanish, Greek, Latina or Jewish descent. Nope, nope, nope and nope! You can't judge a book by it's cover. I would be highly offended if my doctor told me it couldn't be something just because of my race. How about a test to confirm that, doc?
 
<------- LOL! Old pic when my hair was super short and I had just used my hot iron to straighten it. It really is a mess of curls, usually. :ybiggrin:
 
Aw I bet it looks good on you-as you can see from my pic that's my mess of curls after trying to control them lol!
 
As far as I know, we have Dutch, and Native American in our family's blood line. My father's side was the Dutch side, they were all Catholic.
 
Twenty eight and female. I was told I did not fit the "typical" mold for a Crohns Dx. Its primarily a "young Jewish male" disease. That being said my Dr was getting ready to send me to New York to see some Drs in the Hasidic (sp- sry my sleeping meds a starting to kick) community as I was told by my Dr they see more cases and treat it more aggessively. That was 20 years ago- pretty old info I guess. May still hold true. I would like to say getting a Dx is easier now but from my own experience and reading the forum, I dont think so- my idea was it would open the possibility for "others" to join the ranks?
 
Wow, very interesting! I love genealogy so this is really exciting for me! Ok, maybe a little lame, but I can stay close to the bathroom while I research my families! Neither of my families, as far as I know, are Jewish. My dad's families are Irish, Scottish, English, and German, going back to the 1600's. I have a half sister on this side, and she has crohn's. As far as we can tell no one else has any bowel or auto immune issues on either our dad's or her mom's side. My mother's families are English, Scotts-Irish that I know of. I'm stuck on the others and not sure yet. I have a half brother on this side and he has IGA-Nephropothy (probably didn't spell that right). Basically his immune system is attacking his kidneys. His kidney function is at about 10% now and he's on the waiting list for a donor. On this side I also have a 1st cousin who has one dr telling her she has Bechet's, another autoimmune disorder, and one dr telling her she doesn't. Bechet's is supposed to be common in the Middle East and Asia and rare in the US. Guess my family, who isn't Jewish, Middle Eastern, or Asian hit the jackpot, if you can call it that!!
 
I am not Jewish or of Jewish decent; at least not that anyone in the family is aware of. I am a decent mix however (German, French, Dutch, Swedish, English, Welsh, Irish, and I believe a couple more); so I guess there could be somewhere in the blood line.
 
I am half Irish and English, on English side there bit french when back in 1800s or long.

Out of Irish side of family there 5 people who suffer with Celiac disease. Can not eat anything with Gluten.

How me, I have had auto immune disease when I was sixteen and last out few year later and how since 2007 Crohns.

I am odd one with rare suppose genetic auto immune disease, but where do they come from and what side?

Answer is no one any side know.
 
I am not Jewish nor am I of Jewish decent, I am Italian, Indian, and French? Is there really any truth to that?
 
I am Irish, German, English, Cherokee descent. No Jewish ancestry that I know of anyway. I have celiac disease not Crohn's but my younger brother had Crohn's and celiac. Intestinal cancers in 2 uncles on my fathers side and arthritis on my mothers side. They were / are really neat people though in spite of being a little sick sometimes. :dog:

Here's a link an article about genes and the various autoimmune disease they can affect. Genes are wonderful and amazing things.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-460353/Breakthrough-genetic-study-finds-links-seven-common-diseases.html
 
I have always had issues wasnt dx until Dec, 2010 I have issus with dairy, soy , peanuts, I have crohns, sleeping issues, GERD, and joints issues, dry eyes, hearing loss, migraines, maltration, lack Vit D, and C, I fight with c diff almost monthly, I have had 1 resection, carpel tunnel, cyst, hysteromoty. I am currently on serveral different meds. I am always tired, sore, hurting and I am usually up beat, but with all of this going on and no job, financial stress. I am now getting depress. Really
 
I am of English, Scottish, and Danish decent. My families genealogy has been researched back for many generations. I did some of that work myself. There is no evidence whatsoever of Jewish ancestry at all. I am living proof that Crohns is not just a disease of Jewish people.

Eastern European Jews (Ashkenazi) are more likely to get Crohns Disease, but the disease is not specific to them.
 
We are of Irish English Scottish Native American and German decent. My son was diagnosed this year. Our peds GI, at the first appt. after diagnosis, spoke of the Jewish link. In fact, we got like a little mini Crohns history lesson. He said it was found in Ashkenazi Jews more predominately early on, but added that Crohns was an Ashkenazi Jew. Now there was a higher incidence in 1st world countries and in his research and studies it's less heard of among those of African American decent in the Northern US but is more commonly found among that group in Southern US and has found they usually have a severe form of the disease as did Eastern European decendents. Then he went on to discuss children and Crohns specifically since that was what pertained to us.
 

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