health

The causes of Crohn disease are not completely understood. It is known
that smoking is a risk factor for developing Crohn. At one time it was
thought that the disease was caused by emotional stress or by diet, particularly
by eating sweet or high-fat foods. The most common theory, however,
holds that the disease is caused by the patient’s immune system mistaking
bacteria that normally live in the intestine, and possibly certain foods, as
foreign substances that must be attacked. When the immune system overreacts,
white blood cells move in large numbers to the intestines, where
they accumulate and eventually cause swelling and destruction of tissue.

In addition to the symptoms that have already been described,
patients with Crohn disease may experience:

• General lack of energy
  
• Loss of appetite
  
• Intestinal gas
  
• Nutritional deficiencies resulting from poor absorption of nutrients
  from food
  
• In children, delayed growth