Abstract
BackgroundEnvironmental factors are an integral component in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There is an increasing interest in nutritive components. While the potential disease-modifying role of coffee has been intensively investigated in a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, the data on the potential impact on IBD is very limited. We aimed to determine the patients’ perspective on coffee consumption in IBD.MethodsWe conducted a questionnaire among IBD patients in Switzerland, assessing key questions regarding coffee consumption. Descriptive statistics including chi square testing were used for analysis of questionnaire data.ResultsAmong a total of 442 patients 73 % regularly consume coffee. 96 % of patients attributing a positive and 91 % of patients attributing no impact of coffee intake on IBD regularly drink coffee and surprisingly even 49 % of those patients that assign a negative impact on disease symptoms. Among those patients refraining from regular coffee intake 62 % are convinced that coffee adversely influences intestinal symptoms, significantly more in Crohn’s disease (CD) than in ulcerative colitis (UC) (76 % vs. 44 %, p = 0.002). In total, 38 % of all study subjects suppose that coffee has an effect on their symptoms of disease, significantly more in CD (54 %) compared to UC patients (22 %, p < 0.001). Moreover, while 45 % of CD patients feel that coffee has a detrimental influence, only 20 % of UC patients share this impression (p < 0.001).ConclusionTwo thirds of IBD patients regularly consume coffee. More than twice as many CD compared to UC patients attribute a symptom-modifying effect of coffee consumption, the majority a detrimental one. However, this negative perception does not result in abstinence from coffee consumption.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12937-015-0070-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Environmental factors are an integral component in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Using a patient survey in a large collective of IBD patients in Switzerland, we aimed to investigate the consumption behavior and perception among IBD patients towards coffee
This distribution appeared very similar in the subtypes of IBD (CD 72.6 %, ulcerative colitis (UC) 72.8 %, IBD unclassified (IBDU) 71.4 %; Fig. 1)
Summary
Environmental factors are an integral component in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While the potential disease-modifying role of coffee has been intensively investigated in a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, the data on the potential impact on IBD is very limited. A variety of environmental and genetic factors, an altered intestinal microbiota, and aberrant immune responses have been considered as the major etiologic components in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a group of chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) [1, 2]. The effect of smoking – the most profoundly investigated environmental factor in IBD - has already been known for decades [3]. In recent years the potential relationship between nutritional intake and IBD has been increasingly explored [15, 16]. While the development of CD was associated with the intake of total fats and consumption with sugar and/or sweeteners [18, 19], a similar association was found between UC and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat consumption [20]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
