Higher Risk of COPD and Asthma observed in IBD Patients, Finds Study

Cross-sectional evidence suggests a higher burden of chronic respiratory diseases in people with inflammatory bowel disease, but there is a lack of prospective evidence to clarify the direction of their associations. A study investigated the association of inflammatory bowel disease with the risk of two major chronic respiratory diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. They included 430,414 participants from the UK Biobank and followed them from recruitment (2006-2010) to 2021.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma cases were obtained from inpatient data and the death register. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma in participants with inflammatory bowel disease compared with inflammatory bowel disease-free groups. We also investigated the association between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis with the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Results: Over a median follow-up of 11.9 years, there were 11,196 incidents of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 9831 asthma cases.

The adjusted HRs of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR=1.54, 95% CI: 1.33-1.79) and asthma (HR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.29-1.79) were higher for those with inflammatory bowel disease when compared with inflammatory bowel disease-free participants. Participants with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis were also found to have a higher risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Crohn's disease: HR=1.71; 95% CI: 1.36-2.15; ulcerative colitis: HR=1.45; 95% CI: 1.20-1.75) and asthma (Crohn's disease: HR=1.73; 95%CI: 1.33-2.25; ulcerative colitis: HR=1.41; 95%CI: 1.15-1.73) when compared with those free of inflammatory bowel disease. This study suggested that individuals with inflammatory bowel disease have a higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, highlighting the importance of preventing chronic respiratory diseases among inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Reference:

Dan L, Xie Y, Fu T, Sun Y, Chen X, Wang X, Wu C, Chen J, Li X. Increased risk of chronic respiratory disease among individuals with inflammatory bowel disease in a prospective cohort study. Am J Med. 2024 Oct 4:S0002-9343(24)00571-0. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2024.09.001. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39370033.