Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): What Are the Causes & Risk Factors
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is often used to describe disorders that involve chronic inflammation of your digestive tract.
Types of IBD
- Ulcerative colitis
This condition involves inflammation and ulcers along the superficial lining of your large intestine and rectum. - Chron’s disease
This type of IBD is characterized by inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract, which often can involve the deeper layers of the digestive tract.
Symptoms
The symptoms of IBD vary from mild to severe, depending on the severity of inflammation and where it occurs. The periods of active illness are followed by periods of remission.
The common signs and symptoms for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis include:
- Diarrhoea
- Fatigue
- Abdominal pain and cramping
- Blood in your stool
- Reduced appetite
- Unintended weight loss
Causes & risk factors
The exact cause of IBD remains unknown until today. Previously, the person’s diet and stress were suspected as the main causes, but now doctors have determined that these are only the factors that may aggravate IBD.
However, there is one possible cause which is an immune system malfunction. When the immune system tries to fight off an invading virus or bacterium, an abnormal immune response causes the immune system to attack the cells in the digestive tract.
Here are some of the common risk factors of IBD:
- Age
Most people who develop IBD are diagnosed before they are 30 years old. But some people don’t develop the disease until their 50s or 60s. - Family history
A person is at a higher risk if they have a close relative with the disease. - Cigarette smoking
This is the most important controllable risk factor for developing Crohn’s disease. Smoking may help prevent ulcerative colitis but it may harm overall health and outweighs any benefit. Quitting smoking can improve the general health of your digestive tract, as well as provide many other health benefits. - Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications
The medications include ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, diclofenac sodium and others. These may increase the risk of developing IBD or worsen the disease in people who have IBD.
If you experience a persistent change in your bowel movement habits or if you have any of the signs and symptoms of IBD. Although IBD usually isn’t fatal, it’s a serious disease that may cause life-threatening complications in some cases.