Background: Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic
inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract with
variations in localization and behaviour. Mutations
in the NOD2/CARD15 gene on chromosome 16q have
been implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease and three
main sequence variants, all single nucleotide
polymorphisms (SNPs), have been identified in North
American and European populations. Data from mainland
Europe has demonstrated a prevalence of 25-50% within
CD patients. The genetic structure of the Maltese
population includes Near Eastern Arab, Mediterranean and
North African genetic components.peer-reviewe
