A new study was recently published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology suggesting that smoking may determine which part of the intestine is affected by Crohn's disease. The location of the diseases will also affect the treatment and may even make surgery more likely.
"In patients who smoke, Crohn's disease tends to appear more frequently in the small intestine, rather than the colon," says study author Dr. Marian Aldhous. "Our data shows that when Crohn's disease is located here, it tends to cause more penetrating or obstructive damage, which would have to be treated by surgery." The results of this study raise interesting questions about why smoking would affect different parts of the intestine in different ways. "Fundamental differences in small and large bowel physiology may explain the differences in location of Crohn's disease in smokers," says Aldhous. "The effects of smoking should be further investigated, to understand why smoking has a differential effect on different parts of the bowel."
Smoking Influences Crohn's Disease - Effect Seen On Location, Severity Of The Disease In The Gastrointestinal Tract