Background: Although the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unknown, there is increasing evidence that genetic predisposition plays a major etiologic role. To provide the framework for gene identification using a positional cloning approach, ascertainment of families with multiple affected members and careful documentation of pedigrees are essential.
Objective: To report the initial findings of the IBD Genetics Project of the Mount Sinai Hospital IBD Research Unit.
Methods: All records of patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease followed at the Mount Sinai Hospital IBD Unit were reviewed. A questionnaire was sent to all patients to ascertain those with a family history of IBD. Patients with a presumed family history were contacted by a research assistant, and after confirmation of diagnosis, relevant clinical information, pedigrees, and consent to contact family members were obtained. Blood for DNA and cell line preparation were collected from affected and nonaffected family members.
Results: Of 2,504 patients registered in the IBD database, 231 (9.2 percent) were found to have an affected family member: 96 of 964 (10 percent) with Crohn's disease (CD) and 135 of 1,540 (8.8 percent) with ulcerative colitis (UC). A mean of 2.4 family members were affected. In families in which the proband had CD, 82.3 percent had only two affected family members, 78.1 percent had only family members affected with CD, and 82.3 percent had only first-degree family members affected. In families in which the proband had UC, 70.4 percent had only two affected family members, 71.1 percent had only family members affected with UC, and 65.2 percent had only first-degree family members affected. In the 231 families, there were 103 sibling pairs: 46 percent with CD, 28 percent with UC, and 26 percent with CD/UC.
Conclusion: These data suggest that approximately 10 percent of IBD patients have affected family members, with the rate being similar in UC and CD. Future research is directed to genome scanning and linkage analysis in this cohort of patients.