Genetics - please respond regarding family history and IBD.

nobody in my family

I think it is pretty well accepted that there is a genetic link. But that is different than hereditary. Hereditary basically means a person will get a particular disease but, in our case, we may only get or pass on a genetic predisposition to IBD, providing the right triggers present themselves. Unscientifically, based on this poll, you could argue that our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, have over a 60% chance of not having IBD.

garylouisville said...
I think it is pretty well accepted that there is a genetic link. But that is different than hereditary. Hereditary basically means a person will get a particular disease but, in our case, we may only get or pass on a genetic predisposition to IBD, providing the right triggers present themselves. Unscientifically, based on this poll, you could argue that our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, have over a 60% chance of not having IBD.

It might help you if you read the paper Dr. Kevin Rioux wrote about "The Genetics and Inheritance of IBD" really a great and informative read that I received (hard copy) in my CCFC journal at least 10 years ago now.

iPoop said...
Maybe those, like me the first in their families with uc, would be patient zero if we have kids and pass it down... I know the odds of a child getting uc is around 25 percent, so not overwhelming certain odds of it. The DW and I are childfree and don't have any plans to have kids (uc has nothing do with that decision). I respect those of you who have kids, so don't take this wrong

Not to nitpick, but that sounds far too high. IIRC, the chances of a child getting Crohn's if a parent has it is about 5%. The odds aren't any higher for UC; they're lower if anything.

That statistic sounds more accurate if both parents had IBD.

I know of 2 cousins with Crohns.

NiceCupOfTea said...

iPoop said...
I could have been off on the statistic, the general premise is the odds are fairly low. Cheers.

Cheers for not taking it personally.

I would've left it, but I see enough people make comments about not having kids if you have UC as it is. If they believe there's a 1 in 4 chance of passing on UC, that's just grist to their mill.

It's a subject which I feel fairly strongly about. There are many valid reasons for not wanting to have children, and I wouldn't criticise anyone who didn't. But the fear of passing on a loosely heritable condition, which for the most part is treatable, isn't one of them, imo.

I respect your position for sure, NCOT, but I feel like there are enough cases I've read about of people my age needing to get surgery that sufficiently has scared me away from having children of my own. I know 5% may be a relatively small chance, but it is much larger than the chances anyone would have given me of ever getting IBD before I was diagnosed. A treatable condition to me is one where medicine will generally keep you stable for a long long time and the current crop of IBD medications doesn't fit the bill for me, especially if most of the medications for it are powerful immunosuppressives.

For me, IBD isn't the only reason I decided not to have children, OCD and eating disorders run throughout my family, and I am the only one I know of with all three of these conditions, and who knows what i'll develop in the future. Hopefully nothing else. I am happy with my life and I am fighting every day to break even, but I definitely wouldn't want to bring someone else in this world who has to fight so hard just even meet a decent standard of living. That's just my perspective. I enjoy my life and am okay with whatever happens to me, but deciding not to potentially subject my offspring to these conditions plays a big role in the peace I feel.

This isn't meant to convince anyone of anything, I know having children is a big desire for a lot of people. I just felt the need to post my feelings is all. It is an emotional subject for me too as of late, but I respect that every person will weigh the pros and cons and has the right to choose.

Based on Dr. Rioux's paper;

If one parent has an IBD (either CD or UC) then it has been estimated there is a 10- to 15- fold increased risk of their offspring also developing an IBD compared with those who do not have a parent with IBD.

They know there's an inheritance factor, they just cannot mathematically figure it out the way they can with other disease like cystic fibrosis for one example.

And I know there's an inheritance simply based on the fact that my mother had UC. Lucky so far for all my other older siblings that to date haven't gotten an IBD yet but they are still at risk, my mom was in her mid 60's when she got her UC.

NiceCupOfTea said...

I seem to have got every bad gene going from both parents and, given how my life has turned out, I would be hesitant about reproducing too. For me it's not even an option. I'm almost at the end of my natural reproductive life and I have always been single. I don't have overwhemingly strong maternal instincts, and wouldn't want to be responsible for bringing somebody into the world who ended up feeling like it wasn't worth being born.

That's interesting, I feel like we have similar circumstances but opposite outlooks on this subject.

That's okay though, glad we could respectfully discuss it!

1 uncle with UC and almost everyone with bowel issues on the paternal side. We should give up breeding and let the family line run out!

My grandfather died from UC when he was in his 30s but that was before WW2, long before effective treatments were available.

Of my grandfather's two children, neither had UC although my dad had diverticulitis, reflux, gallbladder removal, and several surgeries for intestinal blockages - but not UC. Weird that it manifested itself in every way except UC. And it wasn't a missed diagnosis. He definitely did not have it.

Of my grandfather's four grandchildren, two of us have UC.

Hoping that it skips another generation so if it shows up again in my family, there will be a cure.

We're Ashkenazy Jewish (I'm 96%!) so that must be a part of it.

I have diverticulitis in my family - if there is overlap, then my vote was wrong :(

PB4, thanks for the link. Interesting. Now I wonder if my dad had mild Crohn's... They never saw UC-like inflammation in the colon but his gut was definitely a mess pretty much from end to end.


Unfortunately, he passed away (not from any sort of bowel issue) so I can't discuss it with him.