What Are the Causes of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Is Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Genetic?
What causes IBD?1
Unfortunately, the primary cause of IBD is not known.
IBD is characterized by an inappropriate immune reaction of the body to its own intestinal tract. This reaction results from an altered response to gut microorganisms in a genetically predisposed individual.
Despite the known characteristics of the IBD disease process, the inciting event that initiates the immune reaction is not known.
Smoking and its relationship to IBD
- UC is more common in nonsmokers and former smokers
- Onset of UC is correlated with stopping smoking
- Smoking increases the risk of Crohn Disease
- Smoking decreases response to therapy in CD patients
Is IBD genetic?1
The short answer to this question is “yes.” IBD does have a genetic component; however, this is not the whole story.
Many genes have been discovered that are related to the development of IBD. However, the presence of one or more of these genes does not mean that a person will develop IBD. In fact, the genes only allow IBD to occur; they do not actually cause the disease. Other factors are also involved in the development of IBD. Some of these have been elicited and some have yet to be discovered.