Adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle might prevent up to 60% of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) cases, making it a feasible option for future preventive strategies, according to US researchers.

The findings, published in the journal Gut, are based on analysis of two large studies looking at the health of thousands of nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Diagnoses of IBD – comprising Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis – have been increasing globally, the study authors noted, with the condition currently affecting around 1.3 million adults in Europe.

Previous research has linked IBD risk with several lifestyle factors, they said, but it was not clear if adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle might lower the risk of developing it in the first place.

To investigate further, they looked at data on on participants from the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

https://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2022/11/28/gutjnl-2022-328174