Is Occupation a Risk Factor for Developing Inflammatory Bowel Disease? A Case–Control Study

• Published in: Crohn's & colitis 360 Vol. 5; no. 4; p. otad065
• Main Authors: Mauriz-Barreiro, Violeta, Ruano-Raviña, Alberto, Ferreiro-Iglesias, Rocío, Bastón-Rey, Iria, Calviño-Suárez, Cristina, Nieto-García, Laura, Porto-Silva, Sol, Martínez-Seara, Xurxo, Domínguez-Munoz, J Enrique, Barreiro-de Acosta, Manuel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Oxford University Press 01-10-2023
• Subjects: Observations and Research; inflammatory bowel diseases; epidemiology; occupation
• ISSN: 2631-827X; 2631-827X
• DOI: 10.1093/crocol/otad065

Abstract
Background and aims
The role of occupation is uncertain in the onset of inflammatory bowel diseases. The aim of this study is to identify if there is a role of occupation in these diseases.
Materials and methods
A case–control study with incident cases with inflammatory bowel diseases was designed. Cases and controls were recruited simultaneously and controls followed a sex and age frequency matching with cases. A detailed questionnaire was completed by all the participants. To analyze the results, a logistic regression was used. A subgroup analysis was performed for each inflammatory bowel disease.
Results
A total of 141 patients with incident inflammatory bowel disease (80 ulcerative colitis, 55 Crohn’s disease, and 6 unclassified colitis) and 114 controls were included. There were no statistically significant differences in type of work, working hours, contact with animals, or physical activity at work between inflammatory bowel disease patients and controls. After stratifying results according to type of IBD, there were no statistically significant differences either.
Conclusions
There seems to be no risk for inflammatory bowel disease onset regarding the type of work, working hours, contact with animals, or sedentariness.
Lay Summary
In a case–control study of the relationship between occupations and the development and characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease, there was no correlation found between the type of work, working hours, and disease development.