IBD Is Linked to Significantly Increased Dementia Risk

The risk of developing dementia is significantly higher among patients who are diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to the results of a recent study.

“Increasing evidence supports reciprocal communication between the enteric and the central nervous system in disease, termed the ‘gut–brain axis,’” the researchers wrote.

Previous studies have suggested a link between IBD and risk of developing Parkinson disease. However, the effects of IBD on risk of developing other neurodegenerative disorders is less well understood.

For their study, the researchers examined data from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database, including 1742 patients aged 45 years or older with IBD and 17,420 controls.

Overall, the researchers observed a significantly higher incidence of dementia among patients with IBD compared with controls (5.5% vs 1.4%, respectively). Further, dementia was diagnosed in patients with IBD, on average, at age 76.24, compared with age 83.45 years in controls. The hazard ratio (HR) for dementia among patients with an IBD diagnosis was 2.54 (95% CI 1.91 to 3.37). Notably, risk of Alzheimer disease was the most effected by IBD diagnosis among various types of dementia.

“In conclusion, we found increased risk of dementia following the diagnosis of IBD, with the average age of onset 7 years younger compared with matched controls. Future research on the pathogenic mechanism and molecular underpinning between the two disease conditions may lead to the development of novel therapeutics. Clinical implications include vigilance of dementia among elderly patients with IBD, support and education for patients with IBD and their caregivers, and early detection and timely medical care through a multidisciplinary approach,” the researchers wrote.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Zhang B, Wang HE, Bai Y, et al. Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with higher dementia risk: a nationwide longitudinal study. Gut. Published online June 23, 2020. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2020-320789