Authors: Tragnone A, Valpiani D, Miglio F, Elmi G, Bazzocchi G, Pipitone E, Lanfranchi GA.

Institution: Division of Internal Medicine, Bellaria Hospital, University of Bologna, Italy.

Objective: To examine the influence of dietary factors in Italian patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Design: We studied dietary habits immediately prior to the onset of disease in 104 patients enrolled in a prospective, epidemiological study of the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in Italy.

Conclusions: Our results confirm that carbohydrate consumption is significantly higher in IBD patients than in healthy controls. Ulcerative colitis patients also consumed more total protein than controls. The pathogenetic significance of these findings, however, remains unclear.

Study link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7866810&dopt=Abstract

• Diet and Crohn's Disease: Characteristics of the Pre-Illness Diet
• Increased Sugar Consumption in Japanese Patients with Crohn's Disease
• Increased Consumption of Refined Carbohydrates in Patients with Crohn's Disease
• Dietary Habits as Risk Factors for Inflammatory Bowel Disease