Air Pollution Linked to Increased IBS Incidence
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Increased levels of air pollution were linked to a slight uptick in new diagnoses of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in California residents, according to an ecologic study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. While the underlying causes of this shift remain unclear, the association with industrialization suggests that environmental triggers may play a role in disease pathogenesis
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@samrush o explore whether any such associations exist, the researchers analyzed the incidence of IBS, functional dyspepsia, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and eosinophilic esophagitis in different California zip codes with regards to each area's levels of seven different pollutant markers. They used claims data for patients with Optum insurance to identify new diagnoses by zip code for nearly 2.9 million adult patients between 2009 and 2014 (ICD-9 era) and nearly 2.5 million patients between 2016 and 2019 (ICD-10 era). Preexisting diagnoses were excluded. The analysis included 1,365 different zip codes.