Is measles vaccination a risk factor for inflammatory bowel disease

Prevalences of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, coeliac disease and peptic ulceration were determined in 3545 people who had received live measles vaccine in 1964 as a measles vaccine trial. There was a longitudinal birth cohort of 11,407 subjects who were not vaccinated. There was another cohort of 2,541 partners of those vaccinated. Compared with the birth cohort the relative risk of developing Crohn's disease in the vaccinated group was 3.01 and of developing ulcerative colitis was 2.53. These findings suggest that measles virus may play a part in the development of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. It does not influence the risk of coeliac disease and peptic ulceration.