New studies on the role of smoking in inflammatory bowel disease: are we not beating a dead horse?
The role of smoking in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has drawn more interest as our understanding of these diseases has moved beyond the simple designations of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). In this issue of the journal, Aldous et al. present two papers on the role of smoking in the heterogeneity of IBD. They confirm the findings of many, are at odds with the findings of some, and provide novel observations for us all as we try to understand this complex interaction. Do these studies provide more clarity or just add to the noise? As always, the devil is in the details.
Picco
Michael F
MF
D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology