Dietary patterns and risk for Crohn's disease in children

✍ Scribed by Savio D'Souza; Emile Levy; David Mack; David Israel; Philippe Lambrette; Parviz Ghadirian; Colette Deslandres; Kenneth Morgan; Ernest G. Seidman; Devendra K. Amre

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 93 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1078-0998
• DOI: 10.1002/ibd.20333

✦ Synopsis

Background: Some dietary foods are considered protective (vegetables and fruits), whereas others (fatty foods) are thought to enhance the risk for Crohn's disease (CD). The evidence, however, is inconsistent.

Methods:

We postulated that specific dietary patterns may influence the risk for CD. A case-control study was carried out. Newly diagnosed CD cases with population and/or hospital-based controls Յ20 years were selected from 3 tertiary hospitals across Canada. Predisease diet was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) administered within 1 month of diagnosis. Factor analyses and unconditional logistic regression (adjusted) was used to determine gender-specific dietary patterns and assess associated risks for CD. Odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated.

Results: A total of 149 cases and 251 controls were included. The mean age (range) of the cases was 13.3 (2.6-20 years). There were more boys (61.1%). Four dietary patterns each were observed among both boys and girls. Pattern 1 in girls, characterized by meats, fatty foods, and desserts, was positively associated with CD (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.6 -14.2). Pattern 2, common to both boys and girls, was characterized by vegetables, fruits, olive oil, fish, grains, and nuts and was inversely associated with CD in both genders (girls: OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.9; boys: OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1-0.5).

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that specific dietary patterns could be associated with higher or lower risks for CD in children. Larger prospective studies are required to confirm these findings.