Risk Factors and Hygiene Hypothesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease / 胃肠病学

ABSTRACT

Till now,the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease( IBD)is still not very clear. Some genetic risk loci have been identified that predispose people to IBD,however,they increase the risk of IBD by only a small magnitude. Therefore,environmental risk factors have been the focus of recent researches. This article reviewed the association of environmental factors( hygiene and dietary factors etc. ),especially childhood hygiene with IBD,and concluded that rural environment,higher number of siblings and having pets decreased the risk of IBD,while urban environment and small household size/sibship were risk factors for IBD. Currently,population-based study focusing on hygiene and IBD is deficient domestically,further epidemiological surveys are warranted to confirm their associations.