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Review
. 2016 Jul 21;22(27):6296-317.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i27.6296.

Environmental risk factors for inflammatory bowel diseases: Evidence based literature review

Ayokunle T Abegunde  1 , Bashir H Muhammad  1 , Owais Bhatti  1 , Tauseef Ali  1
Affiliations
Review

Environmental risk factors for inflammatory bowel diseases: Evidence based literature review

Ayokunle T Abegunde et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: Advances in genetics and immunology have contributed to the current understanding of the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

Methods: The current opinion on the pathogenesis of IBD suggests that genetically susceptible individuals develop intolerance to dysregulated gut microflora (dysbiosis) and chronic inflammation develops as a result of environmental insults. Environmental exposures are innumerable with varying effects during the life course of individuals with IBD. Studying the relationship between environmental factors and IBD may provide the missing link to increasing our understanding of the etiology and increased incidence of IBD in recent years with implications for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Environmental factors are heterogeneous and genetic predisposition, immune dysregulation, or dysbiosis do not lead to the development of IBD in isolation.

Results: Current challenges in the study of environmental factors and IBD are how to effectively translate promising results from experimental studies to humans in order to develop models that incorporate the complex interactions between the environment, genetics, immunology, and gut microbiota, and limited high quality interventional studies assessing the effect of modifying environmental factors on the natural history and patient outcomes in IBD.

Conclusion: This article critically reviews the current evidence on environmental risk factors for IBD and proposes directions for future research.

Keywords: Environmental factors; Exposomes; Inflammatory bowel disease.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of risk factors contributing to the development of inflammatory bowel diseases. IBD: Inflammatory bowel diseases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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