Eight years before the outbreak: Blood provides information about Crohn's disease. Researchers from England and Denmark have now made a discovery that could provide initial evidence of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis so early.
Over time, certain values in the blood changed, for example those of cells in the blood, minerals and inflammatory markers. The changes would probably not have been noticed in normal blood tests because they were all within the normal range - only with the help of the large data set were the researchers able to show that the changing values should be a reason to sit up and take notice.