Epidemiology of chronic intestinal disease in middle Africa.

Gastrointestinal disease in middle Africa is changing. The traditional patterns were high frequencies of parasitic and infectious diseases and sigmoid volvulus, and low incidences of colonic polyps, carcinoma of the colon, appendicitis, diverticulosis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The current disease patterns are compared with those for gastrointestinal disease in developed countries and etiological factors are discussed.