General characteristics of the three patient groups
| Quiescent IBD | Quiescent IBD | Controls | |
| Pain, group 1 | No pain, group 2 | Group 3 | |
| Total number | 20 | 20 | 28 |
| Median age (years) (IQR) | 56 (40–66) | 57 (47–63) | 63 (51–68) |
| Number of males | 8 | 12 | 11 |
| Number of UC | 10 | 12 | NA |
| Number of CD | 10 | 8 | NA |
| Number of smokers (UC or CD) | 5 | 6 | NA |
CD, Crohn's disease; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; NA, not applicable; UC, ulcerative colitis.