Crohn's clustered by community

[lejackson4]

Anyone out there part of a cluster of people with Crohn's all from one area? My son is part of a cluster in Forest, VA. Our incidence rate here was 10 to 100 times the national average when he was diagnosed in 2003. He and 4 others in the cluster tested positive for MAP, as well.

 

[Rebecca85]

I don't know about a cluster, but it did freak me out a bit when a kid at my school got diagnosed with Crohn's about 6 months after me. I mean, I thought it was something like 7 in 100,000? And there's 2 of us in a school with less than 350 staff and children. But 2 is a coincidence, 3 or 4 and I might start to worry that there's something in it!

 

[MADiMarc]

Huh, I wonder. I have lived all over the states but was raised in a very small community until I left at 18. So many of my home town friends have called me in the last 5 years or so to say that they have IBS or one of their kids has been dx with CD or UC.

 

[limerick boy]

I do not know if this is coincidence or what but myself and two other lads have been diagnosed with chrons and we live right beside each other. It is really weird like. I think there is only something like 5,000 people in Ireland with chron's and to have 3 people in the same area of housing is really surprising. We have all been diagnosed in the last couple of years as well!!

 

[AbdoAlien]

Since I have been diagnosed, I have found out that 3 girls I work with have also been diagnosed. Also, I have recently found out that 5 people I used to hang out with through out the years have also been diagnosed with crohn's, as well as my cousin...I think that's pretty high for a group of friends/ acquaintances???

 

[lejackson4]

It seems especially high if ya'll live in the same area. Do any of you see the same doctor? Maybe you will have better luck getting someone to try and figure out why. We've hit one wall after another. Have you done any research on MAP? Any dairy farms in your area?

 

[Domsmom]

I have a cousin with it, and also know more people with CD. Since I've been diagnosed it seems like I find out more and more...would just love to know what links us all.

 

[Nytefyre]

I only know one other person with crohn's irl, my sister. Well, my wife's birth mom has crohn's but I have met her only once. None of my old friends have IBD, no bosses, no colleagues, no acquaintances...At least no one has told me, and I haven't seen any signs of IBD affecting their lives like it has mine.

 

[mizgarnet]

Me... I grew up in a rural area (farmland for miles and miles and miles). Not many people but a woman I grew up with (same age) had Crohn's. Something to think about. Oh and my aunt has some IBD. Not officially diagnosed yet.

 

[kildare crohnie]

me and 2 other lads in my years in school got crohns disease... thats 3 out of 100 or so pupils!!

 

[Creepy Lurker]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

As far as the odds of having IBD, I think it's about 1 in 100. I remember reading somewhere that about 3 million Americans have IBD, and there's about 300 million Americans, so that's roughly 1 in 100. I know that the more people I talk to about my illness, the more people I discover have IBD! A co-worker, a former co-worker, a close friend, my aunt (by marriage), etc all have either Crohns or UC. I also recall having read that something like 1 in 6 people have an "invisible illness" such as IBD, arthritis, fibromyalgia, etc. So there's a lot more illness out there than most of us realize!