Children as young as three struck down by bowel disease in Scotland

THE number of children being diagnosed with bowel disease in Scotland has risen by 75 per cent in just over a decade.

Researchers at Edinburgh University believe the rapid rise in the condition, which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is due to poor diet and low vitamin D levels.

They said the painful and debilitating illnesses can have a devastating affect on a child’s growth and quality of life, with even toddlers struck down.

The research team will now look at why the rate has increased so rapidly, exploring whether specific lifestyle, climate and the genetic make-up of Scottish children can explain it.

Doctors still do not know what causes the conditions, more common in boys than girls.

The Edinburgh University researchers found 436 under-16s were diagnosed with inflammation of the colon and small intestine between 2003 and 2008. That compares with 260 cases recorded between 1990 and 1995.

Study leader David Wilson, professor of paediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Edinburgh University, told how Scottish children are now developing the diseases at an earlier age, some as young as three.

He said: “Children in Scotland are more than a third more likely to develop bowel disease than those elsewhere in the UK.

“This study shows there has been a rapid rise in new cases in Scotland in just 13 years. We now have to work out why this is.

“This can be a painful and debilitating disease, which there is not yet a cure for. Many patients need drugs for life.”

The expert said youngsters with the disease were often underweight as many refused to eat to prevent pain.

He said: “Some of these children will lack the nutrition they need to properly develop. Some may even have to have surgery or be admitted to hospital for drugs and fluids.

“We need more research into the cause of the rise – is it genes, diet or something else? ”

Of the 436 children diagnosed with irritable bowels, twice as many had Crohn’s disease than ulcerative colitis or unclassified inflammatory bowel disease.

Almost five in 100,000 were newly diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in Scotland every year of the study,

The number of children newly diagnosed with ulcerative colitis was two per 100,000 and one per 100,000 for unclassified inflammatory bowel disease.

Last year, Manchester United and Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher quit football to recover from ulcerative colitis.

Last month Scotland and Norwich City defender Russell Martin revealed he is suffering from the same illness.

Mr Martin is now a sporting ambassador for charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

He said: “I had a lot of stomach pain and blood loss when I went to the toilet. There were abdominal cramps and I was wanting to go to the toilet about 15 to 20 times a day.

“Thankfully, I’m managing now on a strict diet. I’m not on any medication and I’ve been in remission for quite a while.”