David is a 19-year-old boy who has just started his university studies and is very excited to achieve his goals. But one day in May He began to experience fever, fatigue, and abdominal pain. At first he didn’t give it much importance; “I’ll get over it,” he said to himself.
The weeks went by and the symptoms worsened. The fact of Finding blood in his stool caused him great fear. After several tests and a colonoscopy, the doctor diagnosed him with Crohn’s disease.
Until then, David had lived a normal life, but he never gave importance to following a varied and balanced diet. Furthermore, some time before starting to have digestive problems, I had experienced several symptoms of anxiety and diarrhea.
Crohn’s disease: more common in Western countries
Crohn’s disease belongs, along with ulcerative colitisto a group of pathologies known as inflammatory bowel diseases. These ailments are usually diagnosed at an early age and their symptoms include fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea, with or without the presence of blood.
Inflammatory bowel diseases are more common in Western countries. In Europe725 people per 100,000 inhabitants suffer from them, although the number of cases increases every year around the world. Around 300 individuals out of every 100,000 suffer from Crohn’s disease, while ulcerative colitis is diagnosed in about 400 out of every 100,000.
Both conditions have similar symptoms, but they have some differences. For example, while ulcerative colitis is located only in the large intestine and the inflammation is homogeneous, Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the digestive tract and presents discontinuously healthy and inflamed areas.
What is the origin of inflammatory bowel diseases?
The cause of these pathologies is not exactly known, although it is known that intervene immunological, genetic and environmental factors. As for the former, the presence of inflammatory substances at the digestive level stands out. It is an inflammation promoted by the patient’s own immune cells.
Also has been observed that the risk increases when there are defects in certain genes linked to the relationship between the immune system and the intestinal flora, or with the ability of our cells to get rid of parts that they no longer need (autophagy). However, these genetic abnormalities are not decisive in predicting whether someone will develop inflammatory bowel disease.
Environmental determinants are, therefore, the only ones on which we can act. A recent study that we have carried out in the University of Castilla-La Mancha With Spanish people, the following risk factors have been detected: suffer from anxiety, live in a city, eat large amounts of fat and carbohydrates and eat a low-fiber diet. Other less relevant variables are depression and tobacco and antibiotic consumption.
Dangerous habits
But why do these behaviors or circumstances increase the risk of suffering from inflammatory bowel disease? Let’s go case by case.
In the nutritional chapter, the high consumption of simple carbohydrates, For example, it has been linked to altered function of Paneth cellsresponsible for regulating the bacteria of the intestinal flora and its relationship with the immune system.
We also know that the fiberwhich is scarce in the Western diet, plays a fundamental role in the prevention of these pathologies. It is because various bacteria in our microbiota, such as F. prausnitzii, can degrade soluble fiber and produce short-chain fatty acids, substances that regulate the immune system and have anti-inflammatory properties.
Additionally, Fiber consumption is beneficial in patients affected by Crohn’s diseasesince, in conjunction with other treatments, helps reduce symptoms.
For their part, anxiety and depression not only promote the production of inflammatory substances, but can also alter the functions of immune cells. Both disorders also have been associated with the severity of symptoms in patients already diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
tobaccoharmful in any case, is an ambivalent factor: while it worsens the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, it prevents relapses in patients with ulcerative colitis. Besides, certain studies have found that smoking increased the risk of suffering from the first, but not the second. It could be because tobacco has the ability to alter both the immune system such as bacterial flora.
Continuing with the gut microbiotavery high consumption of antibiotics can destabilize its balance. This is known as dysbiosis and could be related with the appearance of new cases of the diseases that concern us.
And finally, people who live in cities consume more saturated fats and sugarswhich would contribute to increasing the risk.
Due to the increase in cases, knowing which habits increase the probability of suffering from Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis is important to establish prevention policies and promote healthy lifestyles.
Authors
Victor Serrano FernandezPhD student, University of Castilla-La Mancha; José Alberto Laredo AguileraUniversity Professor at the Faculty of Physiotherapy and Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha and Juan Manuel Carmona TorresUniversity Professor at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, University of Castilla-La Mancha
This article was originally published in The Conversation.
