Later Development of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the Healthy Spouse of a Patient

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Abstract
To the Editor: The increasing familial incidence of ulcerative colitis and especially Crohn's disease has directed attention to possible genetic influences in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, as reviewed elsewhere.1 , 2 The occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease in family members living apart for long periods is consistent with a genetically mediated vulnerability. Nevertheless, nongenetic environmental mechanisms (e.g., a common family exposure to a "slow virus") also require consideration. The appearance of inflammatory bowel disease under circumstances of prolonged close contact or exposure presumably to a common source of infection, as in husband and wife, is infrequent. At least eight . . .

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