People With Crohn Disease, Ulcerative Colitis Have a Higher Risk of COPD, Asthma

Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher risk of developing pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, according to a study published in The American Journal of Medicine.

“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,” the researchers noted.

This analysis consisted of 430,414 participants from UK Biobank who were followed from recruitment (2006-2010) to 2021. Data on COPD and asthma cases were obtained from inpatient data and death register. The investigators used proportional hazards models to estimate the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of developing COPD and asthma in participants with IBD compared with them with IBD-free groups. Moreover, they assessed the link the between Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis with the risk of COPD and asthma.

According to the results, the adjusted HRs of developing COPD (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. Specifically, the study found that participants Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis had a higher risk of COPD (Crohn disease: HR=1.71; 95% CI: 1.36-2.15; ulcerative colitis: HR=1.45; 95% CI: 1.20-1.75) and asthma (Crohn 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 IBD.

“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,” the researchers concluded.