Table 1

Birth data and observed/expected cases of inflammatory bowel disease in the United Kingdom

JanFebMarAprMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovDec
CD, Crohn’s disease; UC, ulcerative colitis; IBD, all cases of inflammatory bowel disease. Expected, the number of cases that would have been born in the calendar month if all differences in the number of cases per month were attributable to variation in the total number of births. “Rates”, calculated from the observed cases and total births. See text for definition of “rate”.
UK births 1978–98 (thousands)130212021336129613551327137713441339133012451257
CD cases observed694544594958595661435239
CD cases expected524854525553555454545050
“Rate” of CD per 100000 births5.33.73.34.63.64.44.34.24.63.24.23.1
UC cases observed262623172920202520242027
UC cases expected232124232423242424232222
“Rate” of UC per 100000 births2.02.21.71.32.11.51.51.91.51.81.62.2
IBD cases observed1038180888891889289808278
IBD cases expected867987869087918989888283
“Rate” of all IBD per 100000 births7.96.76.06.86.56.96.46.86.66.06.66.2