Colon to Rectum
Gut. 2024;73(4):590–600
Early-life diet and risk of inflammatory bowel disease: A pooled study in 2 Scandinavian birth cohorts
Objective: The authors assessed whether early-life diet quality and food intake frequencies were associated with subsequent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Design: Prospectively recorded 1-year and 3-year questionnaires in children from the All Babies in Southeast Sweden and The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study were used to assess diet quality using a Healthy Eating Index and intake frequency of food groups. IBD was defined as > 2 diagnoses in national patient registers. Cox regression yielded hazard ratios adjusted (aHRs) for child’s sex, parental IBD, origin, education level and maternal comorbidities. Cohort-specific results were pooled using a random-effects model.
Results: During 1,304,433 person-years of follow-up, the authors followed 81,280 participants from birth through childhood and adolescence, whereof 307 were diagnosed with IBD. Compared with low diet quality, medium and high diet quality at 1 year of age were associated with a reduced risk of IBD (pooled aHR = 0.75, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58–0.98, and 0.75, 95% CI: 0.56–1.00). The pooled aHR per increase of category was 0.86 (0.74–0.99). Pooled aHR for children 1 year old with high versus low fish intake was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.49–1.00) for IBD, and showed association with reduced risk of ulcerative colitis (pooled aHR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.21–0.99). Higher vegetable intake at 1 year was associated with a risk reduction in IBD. Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with an increased risk of IBD. Diet quality at 3 years was not associated with IBD.
Conclusion: In this Scandinavian birth cohort, high diet quality and fish intake in early life were associated with a reduced risk of inflammatory bowel disease.