Letters
Early environmental factors may have role in both Crohn's disease and gastric carcinoma
BMJ 2000; 321 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.321.7271.1291/a (Published 18 November 2000) Cite this as: BMJ 2000;321:1291
- Danielle L Morris (Wisemail@Compuserve.com), Wellcome training fellow in epidemiology,
- Scott M Montgomery, principal research fellow in epidemiology
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study Group, Royal Free and University College Hospital Medical School, London NW3 2PF
EDITOR—Leon and Davey Smith report a geographical correlation between mortality from gastric cancer and infant mortality.1 We have reported a similar but opposite relation between mortality at birth and incidence of Crohn's disease, the incidence of the disease being highest in those countries where infant mortality is lowest.2
We believe that this reflects improvement in hygienic conditions with time, which, once reaching a threshold, become a risk for Crohn's disease. This may be …
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