Ultraprocessed food intake may promote Crohn’s disease

Eating a higher amount of ultraprocessed food (UPF) appears to raise the risk of developing Crohn’s disease (CD), as suggested in a study.

The study used data from three nationwide cohorts of health professionals in the US, namely the Nurses’ Health Study (1986–2014), the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991–2017), and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986–2012).

Of the 245,112 individuals included in the analysis, a total of 369 incident cases of CD and 488 incident cases of ulcerative colitis (UC) were recorded over 5,468,444 person-years of follow-up. The median age at diagnosis was 56 years (range, 29–85 years).

In multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, the risk of UC was significantly increased among individuals in the highest quartile of simple updated UPF consumption than among those in the lowest quartile (hazard ratio [HR], 1.70, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.23–2.35; p_trend=0.0008).

CD risk was strongly associated with the following UPF items: ultraprocessed breads and breakfast foods (per 1 standard deviation increase in intake: HR, 1.18, 95 percent CI, 1.07–1.29), frozen or shelf-stable ready-to-eat/heat meals (per 1 standard deviation increase in intake: HR, 1.11, 95 percent CI, 1.01–1.22), and sauces, cheeses, spreads, and gravies (per 1 standard deviation increase in intake: HR, 1.14, 95 percent CI, 1.02–1.27).

There was no consistent association between UPF intake and the risk of UC.

More studies are needed to determine specific contributory dietary components.