Abstract Background It is well known that occupational activity can affect health. The association between type of work and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) has been studied previously, but the studies on the topic are scarce and they do not have studied the relationship with clinical activity of the disease. The aim of this study is to elucidate if the type of work is a risk factor for the disease activity and severity in recently diagnosed IBD patients. Methods An observational prospective study including incident cases of patients with IBD diagnosed between June 2020 and September 2022 in the area of Santiago de Compostela was developed. Type of work, divided into white collar and blue-collar, sedentariness at work divided into high activity, moderate activity and sedentary activity according to the classification of occupational activity categories using accelerometry, and place of work divided into indoor and outdoor, time at work and contact with animals at work was recorded. All cases were followed-up through one year to assess the evolution of the disease. Endoscopic index at one year from the diagnosis, analytic parameters, hospitalizations related with the disease during the period, treatments administered, and number and severity of flares (measured by Partial Mayo Score and Harvey- Bradshaw) were collected. To analyze the results, a logistic regression was used. Results 136 patients were included and followed their activity for a year. 68 (50%) were females. 78 (57.4%) had ulcerative colitis, 52 (38.2%) Crohn’s disease and 6 (4.4%) unclassified colitis. 30 patients (22.1%) had at least one flare during this time (23 had 1 flare, 5 two and 2 three), and 4 patients were primary non responders. 7 patients (5.2%) were hospitalized. Neither the type of job (white or blue collar), time at work (working hours per week), physical activity at work (sedentary work, moderate activity or high activity), working outdoor vs. indoor nor contact with animals at work were associated with hospitalization (all p>0.05). When contact with chemicals, solvents and dusts were analyzed, no statistically significant difference was found (p>0.05). Regarding the appearance of flares, high activity at work and working outside were protective factors of the appearance of a flare, with OR 0.1 (0.0 – 0.7) and 0.2 (0.1 – 0.8) respectively (Table 1).After stratifying results according to type of IBD, there were no statistically significant differences. Conclusion High activity jobs and working outside are protective factors for a flare appearance in patients with recent diagnosis of IBD. Type of job it is not related with risk of hospitalization.
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