Background: Epidemiological evidence regarding the associations between long-term exposure to air pollution and risk of incident inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is scant.
Objectives: We examined the associations of various specific air pollutants with the risk of incident ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, two subtypes of IBD, among middle and old aged adults in the UK. We also explored potential susceptible subgroups.
Methods: We used data from the UK Biobank study. Information on air pollution, including PM2.5, PM2.5-10, PM10 as well as NO2 and NOx were estimated using the Land Use Regression model. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results: After a median follow-up of 11.7 years, 1872 incident ulcerative colitis and 865 incident Crohn's disease cases were identified among 455,210 IBD-free participants. HRs (95% CIs) of ulcerative colitis associated with each 1 interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM2.5, PM2.5-10, PM10, NO2, and NOx were 1.06 (1.01, 1.12), 1.03 (0.99, 1.08), 1.09 (1.03, 1.16), 1.12 (1.07, 1.19), and 1.07 (1.02, 1.12), respectively. The associations between all the air pollutants and risk of Crohn's disease were null. Smoking status and sex appeared to respectively modify the associations between some air pollutants and risk of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Conclusion: Long-term exposure to various air pollutants was associated with the risk of incident ulcerative colitis but not Crohn's disease, highlighting the importance of developing environmental health strategy to reduce the burden of ulcerative colitis.
Keywords: Air pollution; Epidemiology; Inflammatory bowel disease.
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