The frequency of microscopic colitis in the patients with chronic diarrhea in Kurdistan Province in 2009

Microscopic colitis is a cause of chronic watery diarrhea which may be accompanied with abdominal pain and weight loss. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of microscopic colitis in the patients with chronic diarrhea in the subspecialty center in Sanandaj in 2009. This was a cross sectional study and included 115 patients with non-bloody chronic diarrhea in Sanandaj in 2009. Sampling method was census. Demographic data were recorded in a checklist for every patient. Then colonoscopy was performed and biopsy samples were obtained for pathological examination and determination of the type of colitis. Fifty patients (%43.4) had microscopic colitis (4.3 collagenous and %39.1 lymphocytic) and 65 patients (%56.6) had not this disease. Female to male ratio was 2 to 3. The majority of the patients were under 40 years of age and the mean values of the age of the patients with collagenous and lymphocytic colitis were 29 and 35.4 years respectively. The frequency of microscopic colitis (lymphocytic and collagenous) in the patients with non-bloody chronic diarrhea was high and the age of onset of this disease in Kurdistan was low, while in other parts of the world the disease occurs in the individuals over 50 years of age.