Crohn disease affected an estimated 1,257,000 U.S. adults in 2023–2024, when 0.5% of adults age 18 or older reported ever receiving the diagnosis. The available statistics vary by population, case definition, enrollment period, and measurement date, so current survey estimates, claims-based rates, Medicaid figures, and historical counts should be interpreted separately.
Contents
- Current U.S. prevalence
- Age and sex patterns
- Race and Hispanic origin
- Incidence and claims-based trends
- Medicaid rate ratios
- Treatment and complications
- Historical and international context
Current U.S. prevalence
The latest supplied national survey estimate comes from the CDC report Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2023–2024. It found that 0.5% of U.S. adults had ever been diagnosed with Crohn disease, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.42%–0.55%. The estimate corresponds to about 1,257,000 adults. These are survey estimates of diagnosed or ever-diagnosed disease, not a count of every person who may have undiagnosed symptoms. (CDC, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2023–2024)
For an earlier reference point, the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimated diagnosed Crohn disease prevalence at 0.3% in 2009–2010, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.1%–0.4%. That estimate represented about 578,000 people. Because the two estimates come from different measurement periods, they should be read as period-specific estimates rather than as a direct measure of annual change. (U.S. NHANES surveillance, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Prevalence)
The difference between the 2023–2024 adult estimate and the 2009–2010 estimate also illustrates why prevalence numbers need context. The newer figure covers adults age 18 or older and uses a recent survey period; the earlier figure is from a prior NHANES period. Neither figure alone establishes why the estimates differ.
Age and sex patterns
The 2023–2024 CDC adult estimates were fairly close across the reported age groups, but the estimated number of adults varied with the size of each age group. Prevalence was 0.3% among adults age 18–29, representing about 131,000 people. It was 0.5% among adults age 30–39, or about 239,000 people, and 0.4% among those age 40–49, or about 178,000 people.
Among adults age 50–59, prevalence was 0.5%, representing about 217,000 people. It was 0.6% among adults age 60–69, or about 234,000 people, and 0.6% among adults age 70 or older, or about 257,000 people. These figures describe the proportion who had ever been diagnosed in each age group during 2023–2024; they do not describe new diagnoses during those years. (CDC, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2023–2024)
The same report estimated nearly identical overall prevalence by sex. In 2023–2024, 0.5% of U.S. men age 18 or older had ever been diagnosed with Crohn disease, representing about 636,000 people. Among U.S. women age 18 or older, prevalence was also 0.5%, representing about 620,000 people. These totals are estimates for the specified survey period and adult population, not a finding that risk is identical in every age or clinical subgroup.
| U.S. adult group, 2023–2024 | Prevalence | Estimated people |
|---|---|---|
| Age 18–29 | 0.3% | 131,000 |
| Age 30–39 | 0.5% | 239,000 |
| Age 40–49 | 0.4% | 178,000 |
| Age 50–59 | 0.5% | 217,000 |
| Age 60–69 | 0.6% | 234,000 |
| Age 70 or older | 0.6% | 257,000 |
| Men, age 18 or older | 0.5% | 636,000 |
| Women, age 18 or older | 0.5% | 620,000 |
Race and Hispanic origin
Race and Hispanic-origin estimates from the 2023–2024 CDC report also show differences in reported diagnosed prevalence. Non-Hispanic Asian adults had a prevalence of 0.3%, representing about 45,000 people. Non-Hispanic Black adults had a prevalence of 0.3%, representing about 90,000 people.
Non-Hispanic White adults had a prevalence of 0.6%, representing about 964,000 people. Hispanic adults had a prevalence of 0.2%, representing about 113,000 people. These figures are U.S. adult survey estimates for 2023–2024. They should not be treated as explanations of the differences between groups, and the estimated number of people reflects both prevalence and the size of each population group. (CDC, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Among Adults Age 18 and Older: United States, 2023–2024)
An earlier claims-based U.S. study also reported racial and ethnic distributions for inflammatory bowel disease, but the supplied Crohn disease figures used here are focused on its overall incidence and prevalence estimates. Claims data and survey data answer different questions: claims identify coded encounters under a study definition, while a survey captures reported diagnoses in the sampled population.
Incidence and claims-based trends
Incidence measures new cases during a period, while prevalence measures people living with or identified as having the condition under a specified definition. In a U.S. claims-based study standardized to the 2018 population, Crohn disease incidence was 4.1 per 100,000 person-years, with a 95% confidence interval of 3.9–4.3. The study used claims data through 2018.
The same study extrapolated prevalence to the 2020 census and produced different estimates depending on the enrollment window and case definition. Under its primary four-year enrollment definition, prevalence was 305 per 100,000 people, with a 95% confidence interval of 302–308. Under a secondary four-year definition, it was 347 per 100,000, with a 95% confidence interval of 344–350.
The one-year definitions produced lower estimates in that study: 258 per 100,000 people under the primary one-year definition, with a 95% confidence interval of 256–260, and 290 per 100,000 under the secondary one-year definition, with a 95% confidence interval of 288–292. These differences demonstrate that an administrative prevalence estimate depends partly on how long people must be enrolled and how cases are identified. (CDC, Incidence, Prevalence and Racial and Ethnic Distribution of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the United States)
Medicaid data show another claims-based pattern. In the U.S. Medicaid population, Crohn disease prevalence was 56 per 100,000 in 2010 when cases required at least two Crohn disease encounters. Using the same definition, prevalence was 165 per 100,000 in 2019. Incidence was 18 per 100,000 person-years in 2013 and 13 per 100,000 person-years in 2019, using at least two Crohn disease codes.
With the more liberal definition of one diagnosis code, Medicaid prevalence was 68 per 100,000 in 2010 and 268 per 100,000 in 2019. The one-code and two-encounter results are not interchangeable; they identify different claims-based case definitions. (Burden of Crohn’s Disease in the United States Medicaid Population, 2010–2019)
Medicaid rate ratios
The 2010–2019 Medicaid regression model reported prevalence rate ratios relative to comparison groups. Female sex had a rate ratio of 1.14, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.13–1.15, relative to male sex.
Using ages 20–29 as the reference group, the rate ratio was 0.02 for ages 0–4, 0.08 for ages 5–9, and 0.40 for ages 10–19. The corresponding 95% confidence intervals were 0.02–0.02, 0.07–0.08, and 0.39–0.41. For older groups, the rate ratio was 1.29 for ages 30–39, 1.41 for ages 40–49, and 1.38 for ages 50–59. Their 95% confidence intervals were 1.27–1.32, 1.39–1.43, and 1.36–1.41. For ages 70–79, the rate ratio was 0.53, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.52–0.54.
These are model-based associations within the Medicaid study population. They are not general-population risk estimates and do not establish that age or sex alone causes Crohn disease. (Burden of Crohn’s Disease in the United States Medicaid Population, 2010–2019)
Treatment and complications
Among Medicaid beneficiaries meeting the study’s Crohn disease case definition during 2010–2019, 44.59% had corticosteroid use recorded and 38.42% had antibiotic use recorded. Aminosalicylate use was recorded for 19.42%, immunomodulator use for 13.17%, and biologic use for 20.01%.
More specific medication measures included anti-TNF use recorded for 18.54% of the cohort, adalimumab use for 9.83%, and infliximab use for 9.76%. Total parenteral nutrition was recorded for 10.56%. These percentages describe recorded use among the defined Medicaid cohort; they are not population-wide treatment rates, and a recorded medication does not indicate how long it was used or whether it was effective.
The same cohort had a fistula recorded for 7.40%. An intestinal fistula was recorded for 3.69%, and a perianal fistula for 4.24%. An inflammatory bowel disease hospitalization was recorded for 33.49%, while inflammatory bowel disease surgery was recorded for 17.89%.
Because these measures come from Medicaid claims and use the study’s case definition, they should be read as cohort-recorded treatment and complication measures. They do not mean that the same percentages apply to all people with Crohn disease in the United States. (Burden of Crohn’s Disease in the United States Medicaid Population, 2010–2019)
Historical and international context
Historical U.S. figures provide context but are not current estimates. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reported Crohn disease prevalence of 359,000 people in the United States in 1998. It reported 1.1 million Crohn disease ambulatory care visits in 2004, 1.8 million prescriptions written annually for Crohn disease medications in 2004, 187,000 Crohn disease hospitalizations in 2010, and 611 deaths with Crohn disease listed as the underlying or primary cause in 2010. (NIDDK, Digestive Diseases Statistics for the United States)
International review findings also retain their original study periods. In a systematic review of population-based studies published from 1990–2016, the highest reported Crohn disease prevalence was 322 per 100,000 people in Germany. The highest reported prevalence in North America was 319 per 100,000 people in Canada. These are the highest values reported in that review, not a worldwide current average. (Worldwide incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in the 21st century)
A separate review of North American population-based cohorts reviewed through 2001 found Crohn disease prevalence ranging from 26.0 to 198.5 per 100,000 people and incidence ranging from 3.1 to 14.6 per 100,000 person-years. In that natural-history review, 13% of Crohn disease patients had an unremitting disease course. Those ranges and the disease-course measure describe the reviewed cohorts and their original periods, not a 2026 estimate. (The epidemiology and natural history of Crohn’s disease in population-based patient cohorts from North America)
Across these sources, the central limitation is comparability. Survey estimates describe diagnosed or ever-diagnosed disease in specified populations; claims estimates depend on the case definition and enrollment window; Medicaid treatment and complication percentages are cohort-recorded measures; and historical or international figures retain their original measurement periods. Keeping those distinctions visible is essential when comparing Crohn disease statistics.