Abstract Background Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), is a complex disease attributable to an anomalous immune response to intestinal microbiome antigenic stimulation, but there are limited studies on the overall implication of diet and lifestyle factors in the development of IBD, particularly among East Asian. This study assessed the association of pro-inflammatory predicted high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) scores (derived from diet and lifestyle factors) with IBD among Korean adults. Methods From July 2017 to September 2023, 912 subjects who underwent gastrointestinal endoscopy at eight tertiary medical centres and completed a food frequency questionnaire were used in this study. The study included subjects with IBD and matched them in a 1:1 ratio (using propensity score matching) with normal control; subjects without colonic inflammation or cancer. Pro-inflammatory predicted hs-CRP score was derived from sociodemographic, lifestyle, and dietary information and multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of IBD by tertile distribution of predicted hs-CRP scores (adjusting for age, sex alcohol intake, smoking, education, physical activity and energy-adjusted dietary energy intakes) at a two-sided P<0.05. Results Overall, 127 patients with IBD and 127 healthy controls were included in the study after propensity score matching. Of 127 IBD cases, 59 (46.5%) presented with CD and 51 (40.2%) were females. The prevalence of alcohol use was higher in the healthy control group compared to IBD patients (70.1% vs. 48.0%, p < 0.05), while a BMI ≥ 23 was more common in IBD patients (58.3% vs. 35.4%, p < 0.05). Smoking, age, sex, physical activity, and energy intake differed insignificantly between the two groups. Overall, the median (interquartile range) of the predicted hs-CRP was -2.6 (-3.0, -2.2), and multivariable-adjusted ORs and 95% CIs for IBD by tertiles of the predicted hs-CRP score were 1.00, 1.00 (0.44, 2.25), 8.67 (2.24, 33.51; P trend = 0.004) in males and females combined. When the association was stratified by IBD subtype, the association remained for UC but not CD. Conclusion Pro-inflammatory predicted hs-CRP score (derived from diet and lifestyle characteristics) was associated with higher odds of IBD, particularly among IBD cases presenting with UC. Promoting lifestyle modification to avoid pro might be promising for the primary prevention of IBD.
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