Study adds to previous evidence
Hasan Zaki, PhD, an assistant professor with the department of pathology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, said in an interview that the size of this population-based study adds evidence that simple sugar can increase the risk for IBD. Dr. Zaki studies the relationship of inflammatory disorders and diet and was not involved in the study.
“This study is very strong evidence of the association between high sugar and IBD,” he said. He noted that more studies are needed because there are few studies in this area and results have varied.
His lab conducted work on the subject previously in mice. In a 2020 study, they found that a high-sugar diet helped promote IBD development and gut microbiota dysfunction.
Dr. Zaki pointed out that, among people in the United Kingdom and those in the United States, diets, demographics, and IBD incidence are similar, a fact that may make the findings more generalizable.
However, studies comparing the categories of sweetened drinks should be conducted in a U.S. population to assess the results in a diverse group to see whether ethnicity plays a role, because almost all of the people in the UK group were White, he said.
Also important, Dr. Zaki said, will be follow-up studies of the link between sweet drinks and IBD in U.S. children, among whom consumption is particularly high and the IBD incidence is rising. One study showed the prevalence increased 133% from 2007 to 2016.
The results of this study should help gastroenterologists counsel patients on an ideal diet to avoid IBD or reduce IBD severity, he said.
The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Key Project of Research and Development Plan of Hunan Province. The study authors and Dr. Zaki report no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.