Mortality rates?

[Hayleymariex]

I recently read somewhere that the mortality rate of crohn's sufferers can depend on the age they were diagosed?
My boyfriend was diagnosed when he was 12/13 so I'm wondering if this means his life will be considerably shorter? Currently the only op's he's had are to fix abscesses and fistula's, and I read that the majority of deaths are caused by complications in surgery on the bowel and intestines, so I'm not 100% on how this may affect him.

 

[littlemissh]

It varies hugely depending on site, type and severity of disease.
Most literature states that the mortality is only really raised in the first 2 years after diagnosis. I always wonder if this is because there is often a delay in diagnosis and finding treatment that works.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Everything I read suggests you can live a normal lifespan with CD unless you get another illness like cancer in which case it is an extra manifestation. I would not worry, just stay on top of your condition.

 

[kss]

Does anyone know the mortality rate of Crohn's in the US? (with reference please) I've tried looking all over the place and I can't find it.

 

[nitty]

I'm not sure if you can ever really judge mortality rates with chronic illnesses when the treatments change so much over time.

I knew two people who died as a direct result of Crohn's (this was when I was nursing, so I met more of the seriously ill people than people in the general population), but they were ill for a very long time, developing the disease about 40 years ago, and would not have had the benefit of the medicines that are frontline treatments nowadays.

So people who would have died of serious complications in the past may now never even progress to serious disease with the right treatment.