title: Environmental factors and risk of developing paediatric inflammatory bowel disease -- a population based study 2007-2009.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify environmental risk factors for developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children <15 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  IBD patients and randomly selected healthy controls from a well defined geographical area in Denmark were prospectively recruited in the period 1.1.2007-31.12.2009. Data regarding socioeconomic status, area of residence, living conditions, infections and diet were obtained by a questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 118 IBD patients (59 Crohn's disease (CD), 56 ulcerative colitis (UC) and 3 IBD unclassified (IBDU)) and 477 healthy controls filled out the questionnaire. The response rates were 91% in patients and 45% in controls, respectively. Several risk factors for IBD were identified: IBD in first degree relatives (IBD: OR (odds ratio): 6.1 (95%CI: 2.5-15.0), CD (OR: 6.8 (2.3-20.2)) and UC (OR: 6.1 (2.3-16.0))); bedroom sharing (IBD: OR: 2.1 (1.0-4.3), CD (OR: 3.6 (1.3-9.4))); high sugar intake (IBD: OR: 2.5 (1.0-6.2), CD (OR: 2.9 (1.0-8.5))); prior admission to a hospital for gastrointestinal infections (IBD: 7.7 (3.1-19.1), CD (7.9 (2.5-24.9)) and UC (7.4 (2.5-21.6))); stressful events (IBD: 1.7 (1.0-2.9)). Protective factors were daily vs. less than daily vegetable consumption (CD: 0.3 (0.1-1.0), UC (0.3 (0.1-0.8))) and whole meal bread consumption (IBD: OR: 0.5 (0.3-0.9), CD (0.4 (0.2-0.9))). An increased risk of diagnosis of CD compared to UC was shown for patients living in more urban areas (OR: 1.3 (1.1-1.6)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We identified several risk and protective factors for developing IBD. Studies on the influence of environmental factors are important in our understanding of aetiology and phenotypes of paediatric IBD.
authors: Department of Paediatrics, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark. Christian.jakobsen@hvh.regionh.dk
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Jakobsen
authors: Anders
authors: A
authors: Paerregaard
authors: Pia
authors: P
authors: Munkholm
authors: Vibeke
authors: V
authors: Wewer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001939:Bread; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000150:complications; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014675:Vegetables
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates