This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Cigarette smoking triggers intestinal inflammation, may cause IBD
A new preclinical study published in Frontiers in Immunology showed that exposing mice to cigarette smoke resulted in colitis, and that this was caused by a specific T cell (CD4+) that produces the cytokine interferon gamma.
While prior research has linked smoking to the risk for Crohn’s disease, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. This research provided evidence that inflammation in the lungs related to smoking could potentially impact the intestine.
“Our results suggest that cigarette smoking activates specific white blood cells in the lung, which might later move to the colon, triggering bowel inflammation,” study investigator Jinju Kim, of the department of Korean physiology, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea, said in a press release. “Smokers, especially those who also have bowel disease, should reduce their smoking.”
These findings could potentially help lead to the development of new treatments for Crohn’s disease, the press release stated.
The link between Crohn’s disease and cigarette smoking is well established. Below, the editors of Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease have compiled 11 such studies from our archives regarding the impact of smoking on inflammatory bowel disease.
1. Smoking cessation reduces relapse risk in patients with Crohn’s disease
Patients with Crohn’s disease who continued to smoke had an increased risk for disease relapse compared with patients who quit smoking, and those who quit had a similar rate of relapse as nonsmokers. Read more
2. TOPPIC: Smoking increases postoperative relapse risk in Crohn’s disease
Mercaptopurine prevented recurrence of Crohn’s disease only in patients who continued to smoke after intestinal resection surgery, according to data from the TOPPIC trial published in the Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Read more
3. Smoking cessation programs for Crohn’s improve outcomes, reduce costs
The integration of smoking cessation programs targeting patients with Crohn’s disease is cost-effective for health care systems, according to research published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Read more
4. Smoking, depression, chronic pain, linked to hospital readmission in IBD
Nearly a quarter of patients with inflammatory bowel disease are re-hospitalized within 90 days of their index admission, and modifiable risk factors for readmission include depression, chronic pain and current tobacco use, according to a poster presented at AIBD 2016. Read more
5. Smoking, other factors increased risk for extraintestinal manifestations in Crohn’s
Increased risk for extraintestinal manifestations in patients with Crohn’s disease was associated with smoking, need for surgery and younger age at first diagnosis, according to a German study. Read more
6. Intestinal microbiota altered by smoking cessation
Smoking, and subsequent smoking cessation, appears to cause a shift in the makeup of intestinal microbiota, according to findings published in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Read more
7. Smoking linked to worse Crohn’s disease, need for more therapies
Patients with Crohn’s disease who were current or former smokers had more severe disease and required more treatments than non-smokers in a retrospective cohort study. Read more
8. Smoking doubled risk for intestinal stricture recurrence in patients with Crohn’s disease
Smokers with Crohn’s disease who underwent endoscopic dilation to treat intestinal stricture were twice as likely as nonsmokers to require new intervention, according to a study published in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Read more
9. Smoking associated with Crohn’s disease, previous smoking with ulcerative colitis
People who smoke may be at an increased risk for developing Crohn’s disease, while former smokers may be at increased risk for ulcerative colitis, according to research published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Read more
10. Multiple factors , including smoking, linked to Crohn’s disease relapse after biological therapy
Several factors, including prior treatment experience and steroid use, can increase the risk for relapse among patients with Crohn’s disease in remission following biological therapy, according to research published in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Read more
11. Oral contraceptives, smoking associated with increased risk for IBD
Women who use oral contraceptives may be at increased risk for Crohn’s disease, and those with a history of smoking may have an additional risk for ulcerative colitis, according to research published in Gut. Read more
Disclosures: The authors of the Frontiers in Immunology study report no relevant financial disclosures.