SMOKING-HABITS IN PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL-DISEASE

The proportion of smokers was significantly lower among patients with ulcerative colitis (13%) than among patients with Crohn''s disease (47%), the difference being significant for both sexes and for the age groups both below and above 40 yr. The proportion of male ex-smokers among patients with ulcerative colitis (28%) was higher than among patients with Crohn''s disease (8%), whereas the proportions of non-smokers differed less. Many of the patients with ulcerative colitis who had a late onset were male ex-smokers. The smoking patients with ulcerative colitis were mainly women. They smoked less than the smoking patients with Crohn''s disease and less than the ex-smokers in each group. No smoking patient with ulcerative colitis smoked > 20 cigarettes/day. Male ex-smokers with ulcerative colitis showed an accumulation of onsets during the 4 yr after the definitive smoking stop. The number of colectomies performed on patients with ulcerative colitis did not vary with smoking habits. Colectomy was performed after the smoking stop in 19 of 20 ex-smoker patients.