Background and aims: Environmental exposures play a key role in inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis. The incidence of IBD has increased in the Arabic Peninsula with a disease phenotype that seems to differ from that of Western countries. We aimed to examine the association between environmental exposures and the risk of IBD in Saudi Arabia.
Patients and methods: We performed a case-control study comparing Saudi individuals with confirmed IBD and healthy controls. All subjects completed a detailed questionnaire that included data on demographics, clinical characteristics, childhood exposures, socioeconomic exposures, and parent factors. Associations between risk factors and inflammatory bowel disease were investigated through univariate and multivariate regression analysis.
Results: The analysis included 82 patients and 160 controls. According to multiple logistic regression analysis, holding a University/Master degree education level or a PhD degree reduced the risk of inflammatory bowel disease by 10-fold (odds ratio = 0.1, confidence interval = 0.1-0.3), receiving seven vaccines or more during childhood increased the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease by nine-fold (odds ratio = 9.2, confidence interval = 2.9-29.4) and maternal use of oral contraceptives pills increased the risk by 11-fold (odds ratio = 11.4, confidence interval = 3.3-39.3).
Conclusion: Inflammatory bowel disease occurrence was independently associated with education level, number of childhood vaccination, and maternal use of oral contraceptives pills in this population of inflammatory bowel disease patients. This is the first study examining environmental exposures as risk factors for inflammatory bowel disease in Saudi Arabia.